


Alive In Kentucky

by JessAlmasy



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 18:52:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 66,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4677515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessAlmasy/pseuds/JessAlmasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one thing that all the zombie movies really had in common was that you only look out for yourself. What if that's not an option? What if you aren't just looking out for yourself and your family? What if you've actually managed to keep your best friends alive, too? How do you keep them safe when the rest of the world wants to EAT THEM? Zombie AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dead in Ohio](https://archiveofourown.org/works/424202) by [patchfire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchfire/pseuds/patchfire), [raving_liberal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raving_liberal/pseuds/raving_liberal). 



> This story is awkward and I don't really like how it turned out lol It's not realistic at all. Realistically most of what I do in this story wouldn't work and there would be way more zombie and people vs people encounters, among other problems. (roads being blocked, etc) 
> 
> The main pairing will be Puck/Kurt, with two or three side pairings by the end. Their group will eventually consist of 12-14 people, 6 of which are from New Directions. (their siblings don't count as ND, Stevie, Stacey, etc)
> 
> This story is very heavily influenced by the movie Zombieland and Dead in Ohio by Patchfire and Raving_Liberal from AO3. I tried not to take anything from DiO directly, but a lot of the information they gave about where Kurt and Puck lived in both that story and Three Boys universe, went into decisions I made about where they lived in mine, little things like that. And frankly their story is more realistic than mine. =P 
> 
> WARNINGS: To paraphrase DiO: It's a zombie apocalypse, not a Disney movie. There's Major Character Death, although I'm 99% sure none of the characters that are alive when they leave Lima are going to die later. Possible Dub-con in the future, depending on how you look at it and how sensitive to such things you are. Guns, Looting, breaking the law as soon as the cops aren't looking. Questionable morals, such as possibly sending a cashier off to his death. Again, it's a zombie story, I could go on.
> 
> It starts after season 3, right after graduation. Longest author's note ever.
> 
> Edit 12/31/15: I've added the 'inspired by' tag (hopefully, I'm still new to this) for Dead In Ohio, mainly because I do feel I wouldn't have written this story without reading theirs first. That story helped me get over my overall dislike of zombies in general =P

[Kurt]

Kurt's first thought after hearing Sam mutter about zombies is, _I love that boy, but he's so fucking weird._ His second thought is, _I really should hang out with the girls more. Watching the guys play xbox has stunted my vocabulary and made me vulgar._ His third thought is, _Sam needs to hurry up and get off the damn phone. I'm cold._

After that, Kurt does his best to press himself close to Finn and wait until Sam stops having the dumbest conversation he's ever heard. He'd only heard Sam's part of it, of course, so who knows what the other person was saying, but it sounded like they were egging him on and Kurt just wants to scream at them not to encourage mental illness. Believing in stupid shit like the zombie apocalypse **should** be a mental illness. They'd listed homosexuality as a mental disorder once, so it's not like it'd be that out of the box. He'd write a paper on it, except he's not in school anymore and he doesn't have to do stupid crap like that ever again.

He'd been a high school graduate for a whole week. Now all he had to do was figure out where the hell to go from here. He'd started working at the Lima Bean, and he had vague plans to move to New York at some point, and reapply for NYADA. Rachel had already been shipped off and was loving it, even if she and Finn were still heartbroken. Luckily Finn doesn't report for basic training for a few more weeks. Kurt will get to enjoy one last summer with his brother before he runs off and gets himself killed by attempting to use a gun for anything other than self-harm.

When he shivers, Kurt glares over at Finn's soft chuckle. "Shut up." _He knows the rule. If Sam doesn't hurry the fuck up, I'm turning it off._ When Sam had moved in, Kurt had been officially overruled. He and Finn had been fighting tooth and nail over the thermostat since their parents got married. Being an overly large jock, Finn got hot easy and always wanted the air on as high as it would go.

But Kurt didn't have the layers of muscle and fat that protected Finn. They'd made a deal that if Kurt let them blast the air, he got to use the guys as heaters. Since they were all pretty used to Kurt's habit of snuggling during movies, they'd agreed easily. Puck had been calling him a reptile for months, after being used as a pet heating rock all last summer.

Without comment, Finn just wraps his arm around Kurt, pulling him tighter into his side, going back to watching a re-run of Supernatural. Just as Kurt is about to embarrass himself by whining, Sam finally chokes out, "L-love you too, Dad. I will."

When he hangs up the phone he just sits and stares at it for a few seconds. Before Kurt can get a chance to yank him back onto the couch to heat his other side, Sam pulls up another name on his phone and calls it. Hearing his huff, Finn laughs again.

"Just go get a blanket, dude. He's obviously gonna be awhile." Sighing in defeat, Kurt gets up. "I wasn't really listening, I wonder what's up?"

Kurt shrugs before heading upstairs. "Apparently his dad is trying to prepare him for the zombie apocalypse or something."

Kurt goes up to his room and grabs a fleece throw out of his closet. Noticing that his phone is finally charged, he grabs it. As he's coming down the stairs already wrapping the thin blanket around himself, Sam hangs up. Sitting back on the couch, Kurt watches as Sam starts to pace the room. _He seems to have moved from calm disbelief into full blown panic. What the hell did his dad say?_

Almost like Kurt had spoken out loud, Sam turns to Finn and Kurt. "My dad called. He's at work, and he can't get home. He locked himself in the foreman's office, but it's not secure enough to last. He can't get through to my mom, so she's probably gone. I called Stevie and Stacey. They understand what's going on, apparently they can see some of it going down a few streets away, so I told them to lock the house down and cover the windows. Stevie, at least, should know what to do. It's still chaos there so they don't have to worry about being quiet or anything. Yet."

Finn opens his mouth to ask a question, looking really confused. Kurt cuts him off before he gets a chance. "Sam, sweetie... what the fuck are you talking about?"

Sam turns to him and watches him quietly for a few seconds before sighing. "You aren't going to believe me. I can tell. You're the type that you'll have to see it. What you need to know is that I've been preparing for this sort of thing for most of my life."

Not any less confused, Kurt goes to ask again but it's his turn to be cut off.

"My dad is one of those survivalists you hear about in jokes and shit. He keeps a Sheldon-Cooper-type survival kit in his car. He's been teaching us how to shoot guns and survive without technology for most of my life. Even Stacey can shoot."

"Uh, that's great, hun. Thanks for the trivia, but what's going on?" Kurt is starting to get frustrated. _Either explain what's happening, or calm the hell down, jeez._

Sam sits heavily in the chair across from them and drops his head in his hands. Looking up at them, he says, "You won't believe me, but apparently there's zombies in Kentucky. Before Dad knew what was going on a horde of them had swamped the job site. He doesn't know how it happened or anything, just that they looked like zombies, didn't stop when hurt and that they were biting and trying to eat people. He managed to lock himself away and call us, but mom works in Florence and he couldn't get through. If the disease made it that far, to the tiny little town five or ten miles away from a city... most of Kentucky has probably already been hit."

Finn speaks up before Kurt can really process. _Well, he was right. I don't believe him. Zombies aren't_ _ **real**_ _._

"But- how- I-if zombies attacked, wouldn't it be on the news or the internet or **something**?"

Kurt wants to cut off this conversation. It's stupid. This can't happen, so why talk about it? Instead, Sam responds, "It's the middle of the day. I don't know where it started or how fast it spread but the news won't come on for a few more hours. It's not really the sort of thing people would think, 'I should tweet about this!' If you're being attacked by zombies you're either dead or not real fucking worried about what your facebook friends have to say about it."

Kurt giggles, "So there is a limit?" Sam just blinks at him. "I've been wondering for awhile if there was something important enough to happen that people wouldn't immediately run to social media about."

Sam glares at him. "My little brother and sister are trapped in our house by things that want to eat them. My mom is dead and my dad is probably being eaten right the fuck now. I don't find this very fucking funny, Kurt."

Kurt's smile drops off his face completely at how deadly serious Sam sounds. "Sam, I-"

"Just drop it, Kurt. I knew you wouldn't believe me. I know I joke around a lot, but my dad was really freaking out. He made me promise to go get Stevie and Stacey. Not today, it's too risky, but as soon as I can. Luckily he freshly stocked the house a few days ago, so they should be fine for a couple weeks if they're smart. But they won't make it if they leave the house." Sam's voice cracks. "He's only nine. Stacey doesn't turn eight for another four months. They need help, Kurt."

Still refusing to believe there are zombies out there eating people but realizing that Sam does, he gets up and hugs him. "Okay, hun. Okay. What do you want to do?"

Sam sniffs back a few tears that tried to escape. After a couple minutes, he pulls away from Kurt and get his phone back out. "First thing we have to do is get as many people here as we can so we can warn them." When he looks over, Finn has changed the TV to the local Fox channel, figuring if anyone would jump on a zombie story, it's Fox News. Finn turns the volume on low and then gets out his own phone, calling his mom.

As Kurt listens to Finn freaking out that his mom won't answer, he starts to wonder what the hell is going on. _It can't really be zombies, right? Maybe there was just a group of really sick people that were being weird or something. Or a joke, maybe some assholes were playing a joke that got out of hand? Carole is probably just busy or in the shower or something... Dad should be past the meet and greet and in the conference by now._ As Kurt is wondering if he should try to call him, his phone beeps.

When he pulls it out he sees that it's a mass text to all the members of glee club that are left in the city. Mercedes had already gone out to LA, Rory had flown home, and of course, Rachel was in New York. _If this is really happening, there's nothing we can do for them._

_**Sam: Everyone meet at the Hudmel house! Like, NOW. It's really important, please humor me. Bring as many clothes as you can shove into a backpack or suitcase. Bring anything you think you can't live without, pretend you're never going to see your house again. PLEASE listen to me.** _

The blonde sighs. "I wish I could ask them to bring any guns or ammo their family has, but that's taking it a bit too far. That might freak them out."

Kurt snorts. "Ya think?"

Sam just huffs at him before saying, "I'm going to go see what all canned foods we have. Let me know if anything else happens."

Watching him leave the room, Kurt flops backward on the couch, glancing at the tv. Nope. Still Everybody Loves Raymond.

Hearing another beep from his phone, Kurt pulls it out, expecting a 'wtf?' type text from someone in glee. When he sees the text he cocks an eyebrow.

_**Dave: Uhh... u hear nething weird abt... nething?** _

_**Kurt: Wow. That's pretty open ended there Dave.** _

_**Dave: I just um... may have heard something rly strange and I was just wonderin if neone else had heard nething.** _

_**Kurt: Well, unless you believe in zombies, nope, not a thing.** _

_**Dave: Shit! You heard about it too? Whatd you hear?** _

Blinking at his phone, Kurt yells out, "Saaaam... I think something else happened!"

When he comes skidding into the room, Sam says, "Oh god, what now?" All Kurt does is show him the phone and he starts cursing. "Shit! God damn it. It might already be here, call him! That's Karofsky right?"

Kurt just nods, hitting the call button. It picks up on the first ring. "Hello? Fancy?"

"Hey, Dave. I'm gonna put you on speaker, it's just Sam and Finn though."

"Uh, okay."

When Kurt holds the phone out between him and Sam, the blonde boy speaks up, "What happened?"

A few seconds of silence pass before Dave says, "Well, a friend of mine got a call from his dad awhile ago. He's out of town and apparently... he got attacked in D.C. … by zombies. 'Course, my friend didn't believe it, but I figured it was worth calling someone about, just to make sure. His dad really isn't the joking type."

"Shit. They got Maryland too. At least we know what direction it's coming from. Finn! Try to text Rachel. Kurt, you can tell him what's up. Where does Burt keep the guns? And uh... call him when you get off the phone."

Sam runs back out without another word with Finn leading the way to the guns. A few seconds go by before Dave coughs, "Fancy?"

"Sorry! I spaced out."

"Uh, no problem... so what's going on?"

Kurt sighs, taking the phone back off speaker. "Sam's dad called, he lives in Kentucky and apparently he got attacked at work, said it was zombies and now Sam is freaking out. He even sent out a text to the entire glee club to meet up here. He's actually been preparing for something like this, according to him. His dad is one of those nut jobs you see on tv."

"Oh. Well... shit. So this could actually be going down? Or uh, something like it at least? I mean, if you guys heard about it from Kentucky and we heard it from D.C. then this could be real, right?"

"I guess, in theory. It seems like something's going on anyway. If you want to come, you're welcome to. God only knows who all will show up, or what will happen. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to if they devolve into screaming matches."

Dave seems to hesitate. Eventually he asks, "Uh, what about my friend? I can't really leave him here alone. And I don't think you want him in your house."

Kurt shrugs before he remembers they're on the phone. "I'm about to have a lot of people in my house that I don't want here. The more the merrier at this freaking point, as long as you can keep him in check."

"Sure, man. That shouldn't be a problem. Is there anything I should, I dunno, bring? Do? Somewhere I should stop?" Dave sounds like he's embarrassed to ask and Kurt can tell, _He believes it. But he can tell I don't._

Instead of answering, Kurt yells out. "Sam!" When he pops his head back around the door, Kurt stands and turns to him. "Dave and someone else are headed here, they seem to believe you, he wants to know if there's anything he should bring."

Looking surprised, Sam says, "Uh, his clothes, like I said, and any guns, ammo, or weapons they have, since he believes us."

After relaying the message, Kurt turns back to Sam. "He said sure, but is there anything he should stop and get? Apparently money is no object, although I don't see how."

Smiling for the first time since he'd gotten the call from his dad, Sam says, "Uh... I'm not really sure. He shouldn't take too long, because I don't know when it will hit. Tell him to have his friend wait in the car but keep an eye on him in case he needs help getting out. But if he could stop by as many gas stations as he can and stockpile cigarette lighters, maybe buy those places out of toilet paper, because I'm pretty sure there will never be too much of that ever again."

"Did you hear that? Yeah. And he also told the glee club to grab anything from their house, like they're never coming back there. Oh! If money really isn't a problem, maybe buy out a bunch of pop from those gas stations and get a huge dinner from KFC or something. Wings, all of our guys love wings. Just get enough for like 20 people. I know there will be at least seven or eight of us. If Noah doesn't take the opportunity to pawn Sarah off on me, I'll eat a shoe."

"If you say so, Fancy."

Kurt sniffs primly. "I do. Thanks for offering."

"No problem, I'm gonna go pack a bag and get everything ready. We should be there in about an hour."

"Okay... Dave?"

"Yeah?"

Kurt bites his lip, making sure Sam has moved away before continuing, "It... might be true. It sounds like it is... but it's so freaking weird... just... be careful? Keep an eye out. If anything looks off, anywhere, at all, just go. Haul ass here. Okay?"

Kurt can hear the smile in his voice when Dave says, "I'll be fine, Kurt. I'll keep an eye out, and I'll have S- someone watching my back. We'll be there soon."

"Okay. Be careful!" After a quiet chuckle, the line disconnects. Kurt clenches his phone in his hand before dialing his dad's number. It connects on the third ring and Kurt sighs in relief. _Maybe it's not actually true? Maybe we're all just overreacting?_

When Burt answers, he sounds out of breath. "He-hello? Kurt?"

"Dad! Where are you? You wouldn't believe some of the crap we're hearing."

After a few seconds of silence, Burt responds, "Thank God you're okay... I'm uh, locked in a bathroom. I'm still in D.C. obviously. Kurt, there's something I need to tell you."

Kurt feels his stomach clench. _No. This isn't happening. It's not..._

"Kurt?"

Clearing his throat, Kurt sinks back down on the couch, "Yeah, Dad?"

"Have- ugh. Have you heard anything about what's going on? You sound normal, so I guess it hasn't started there yet."

"Wha- what are you talking about? What hasn't started?"

"Kurt... there's things here. Like, movie monsters. Zombies or whatever. At least, they look like people, but some of them have been hurt and don't seem to care, so maybe they're dead... I don't know. You know I don't watch that crap. But... they eat people, or try to. They... attack and don't care who it is. At all. You'd think that it would matter, or they'd somehow know... but no. They... don't. The only thing that stops them is being hit or shot in the head, just like the movies... Kurt? You there?"

"Yeah... yeah I'm here, Dad. So... it's real? What Sam heard from his dad? There are hordes of zombies attacking?"

"Yeah... started a few hours ago. I couldn't bring myself to call you... in case you weren't... It seems to take anywhere from 20 minutes to almost an hour for them to change. Depends on where they got bit, probably. Takes longer if they actually die, I guess. That or they got that part wrong in the movies... maybe they won't get back up?"

Kurt feels a sob rising in his chest. _It's real. It's really happening. And Dad isn't here. He's already dealing with it. He's far away, I'll never see him again._

"Dad! You have to get home! You have to make it back here. I can't go there, not if it's already started. Maybe you can get back here before it spreads and we can go. We can just run and go somewhere safe, like in the mountains or something. Hide out in a cornfield in Nebraska. You just have to get home!" Kurt can feel the panic rising and hears Sam and Finn walking back toward the room. He wants to stop, to pull it back, and lock out the realization that it's not a joke, it's not fake. But he can't. He never gets a chance. Because Burt's next words are choked out, sounding weak.

"Kurt... I got bit."


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt can feel the blood drain from his face. He can hear the words echoing in his brain, unstoppable, loud, ringing... final. He'd been bitten. He was going to turn. His dad was dead. And now they both knew it.

"Dad, are you sure? 100% sure? Maybe you just got cut or... maybe it won't get you? We don't **know** -"

"I know, Kurt. I can... feel it. It's changing. It's been about half an hour, it got my leg. It wasn't deep and I wrapped my belt around it, and it's slowed it, but it's... too late, kiddo. I can tell. It's coming. I should go, I don't want you to hear it. Is Finn there?"

Remembering there are other people in the world, Kurt looks up and locks eyes on Finn's tear soaked face. "Yeah, he's here, Dad. Let me put you on speaker. Sam can hear you too. His dad was one of those crazy survivalist guys, so he knows what to do, he's already started getting stuff ready."

"Good. That's great, Kurt. Do whatever Sam tells you, then. Finn?"

"Yeah... Burt, I'm here. Is my mom- Where is she?"

Obviously crying now, Burt sucks in a breath. "She's gone, son. She was one of the first I saw get bit. She never saw it coming. She... she went quick, at least. I'm so sorry, Finn. I couldn't get to her. I was across the room, at the stupid meeting thing. I was standing with a group from Ohio. Some of us managed to get away, but one idiot let a guy in later. Before we realized he'd been bit, he changed, got Forbes, Jones, and Smythe. I managed to tackle him before he got anyone else but he bit my leg on the way down."

Finn comes over to sit with Kurt, wrapping his arms around him. Sam sits on his other side, close but not speaking. Finally Burt pulls it together enough to finish.

"I gotta go, guys. I love you. All of you. Stay together. Don't fight with each other. Don't let stupid human shit separate you, you have enough to worry about. I love you guys so much... be careful."

Before Kurt or Finn can respond, Burt disconnects the call.

The silence echos around the room for long minutes. Kurt can't bring himself to say a word, still staring at his darkened phone. _He's gone. He could be turning right now. He's dead... and not just Dad... Carole too. And everyone else if we don't do something._

Kurt sits up, suddenly snapped out of it and pulls up a contact, dialing before he even thinks of what to say. He'd gotten into another fight with Blaine about New York, and they hadn't made up yet. _He needs to get here. He can't stay in Columbus. It's too big... the major cities are death traps. Even I can figure that out._

The first call goes to voicemail and Kurt leaves a message. "Blaine! It's me! It's really important! Answer the damn phone! I know you're mad, but it's really not what matters right now. Answer the phone!"

He hangs up and immediately dials it again. _He has to get out. If he doesn't..._

This time Blaine answers right away. A sigh, "What, Kurt?"

"Blaine! You have to come to Lima, now."

A scoff. "You haven't even apologized for what you said, why should I come see you?"

Kurt has to stop himself from snapping, taking a deep breath he says, "It's not about coming to see me. You just have to get away from Columbus. Go anywhere else, really, but if you come here, we'll be together. You have to leave the city!"

"Kurt, you're not making any sense! I'm going to watch a movie with Thad and Trent. I'll call you afterward."

"Blaine-!" The line cuts off. Kurt tries repeatedly to call him again only to have the calls go straight to voicemail. He'd turned the phone off. Not only was he in the biggest city in Ohio, he was at a movie theater. If it hit in the next two or three hours, there was no hope for him whatsoever.

Kurt curls up on the couch, sobbing. His dad, Carole, now Blaine... and it was only the beginning. Soon everyone he knew would be dead. Sam and Finn curl themselves around him and wait out his tears. He vaguely hears them whispering quietly, Finn sounding just as devastated as Kurt when he admits that Rachel has her phone off too, she never answered.

It feels like hours but it's probably closer to 20 minutes later when the doorbell rings. They all sit up and stare at it for a few seconds before Kurt sniffs back his tears and says, "You did tell everyone to head here as soon as possible. That's probably them."

Sam gets up to answer the door and Kurt heads toward the half bath off the hall. "I'm gonna go wash my face." Finn nods.

Just as Kurt is about to shut the door, he hears Puck and his little sister come in the house, Sarah asking where Kurt is. After taking a few minutes to calm down and stop crying, Kurt washes his face and tries to put himself together. They're about to explain to anyone who shows up that the world is ending... _At least they probably won't have time to have us committed before it starts._

When he steps out, he's greeted by Puck's head snapping over to him and staring at him closely. "Okay, what the fuck? Why is he crying?"

Sam and Sarah both look confused, turning to Kurt. He huffs. _Damn him. I thought I did a good job covering it._ Finn just shrugs. He's more used to Puck's overly observant nature when it comes to Kurt.

"I'm not crying, Noah." Ignoring the muttered, 'Not **now** ' from Puck, he walks over to the couch again and sits next to Sarah, running his hand down her hair. "Hey, sweetie. I see your big brother dragged you out today."

"Nope! I made him bring me. He was grumbling about a text and said he didn't want to put on pants, but I was bored so I made him!" Sarah is all but bouncing. Kurt doesn't know why, but she'd always really liked him.

Kurt smiles at her, "Typical. Well, he'll owe you for that for the rest of his life, hun. Make sure you remind him of it. Frequently."

Puck's narrowed eyes and questioning frown are interrupted by the doorbell ringing again. This time it's Finn that opens it, revealing Santana and Brittany. Britt is actually wearing her cheerleading bag stuffed with, presumably, clothes. Santana just looks pissed off.

"Move, Frankenteen." When she stomps past Finn she crosses her arms and glares at Sam. "Way to go, Trouty. Thanks to you, I couldn't get my mack on. She got that damned text and jumped straight up off the bed and starting throwing shit in a bag."

Sam tries not to grin at the news but fails. "Sorry, Tana. Trust me, it's important."

"It better be. Now what the hell's going on?" Santana sits in the arm chair, motioning for Britt to squeeze in with her. When they're settled, Sam says,

"Uh, it's better to only tell it once. Just hang out, see if anyone else shows. We know at least two more will. They should have dinner too." Looking at their bag he asks Brittany, "What all did you bring?"

She shrugs, "You said things we couldn't live without, so I grabbed my mom's photo album, her jewelry box, and the last of our Cocoa Puffs. And I stuffed the rest of the bag with my clothes. San didn't have much at my house, but I brought what we had."

Kurt is actually fairly impressed. For Brittany, that's not bad. Everyone breaks off into quiet conversations, Puck and the girls trying to get one of them to talk about what's going on while Finn and Sam try to distract them. Kurt takes turns talking with Sarah while braiding her hair and glancing nervously at the clock. It had been over an hour... where was Dave?

Sam sent out another text urging anyone else to please come to the Hudmel house. He got a few responses from people, most telling them they were busy, out of town or just, no. Kurt loves everyone in the club, but some of them, he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life with. So he's not real upset at the idea of no one else showing up. He'd rather think they all survived... somewhere else. Somewhere not with him.

_God. I'm such an asshole. I can't believe I'm looking at the very real possibility of my friends dying, and I'm kind of hoping they stay away. But I mean... how big of a group could we protect? Only a few people, and you're easy targets; too many, and you're just as easy unless you can defend yourselves._

Sam looks up and locks eyes with Kurt and he knows that Sam feels much the same way. He still has his brother and sister to worry about. The more people there are, the slower they'll be. And he doesn't have a lot of time.

Kurt has pulled up Dave's contact and closed it out the for third time, debating on whether or not to call him when he finally hears a truck pull up. "Oh! Thank fuck!"

Kurt pops off the couch and heads for the door, he sticks his head out to make sure everything looks normal before running out to meet him. Dave steps out of the truck to get an armful of relieved Hummel. His only response seems to be confusion. "Uh, Kurt? You know people are staring at us, right?"

"I don't care. God, where the hell have you been?!" Kurt pulls back and glares at the much bigger boy.

Laughing the jock reaches back inside the truck, grabbing bags. "Well, I stopped to get all the lighters and pop they had at a couple places, and wow, you should have seen the looks I was getting. Then I figured that if this shit is really going down, we'd need water and maybe Gatorade, so we bought all that too. Then we went to get the chicken but I remembered something from I Am Legend about a hand gas pump, in case the power fails, so we went to Tractor Supply, hitting every gas station we found for at least lighters. I also bought and filled up a few gas cans."

Kurt gapes at him. "Holy shit! Really? You did all that in barely over an hour?"

"Well, we double teamed a lot of it, despite his bitching." Dave looks over his shoulder. "You're being awfully damn quiet. That's new and different for you. I like it. Do it more often."

Kurt finally pulls away and looks behind him. The last thing he expected to see was Sebastian Smythe leaning against Dave's truck.

"Oh, hell no. You have **got** to be shitting me."

* * *

Sebastian smirks at Kurt and if Dave didn't still have his arm wrapped around him, the smaller boy would punch him just for that look alone after the day Kurt has had. Instead he looks up at the former bully.

"Tell me you did **not** bring the meerkat to my house during the apocalypse, Dave. I thought we were **friends**!"

"You said I could bring someone! I told you that you weren't gonna like it!"

"I thought you meant Azimio! I didn't fucking know you meant **Sebastian**!"

Dave stammers, "W-well what was I going to do, Kurt? Leave him to die? Look, I know you guys hate each other, but seriously, he's not that bad. As long as his mouth stays shut." As if sensing a comment coming, Dave snaps out, without even looking at him, "Don't, Seb."

Huffing, Sebastian leans against the truck again. "Fine, I won't say a word. This is so stupid. At this point, you better hope the world is ending, or my dad is going to fucking kill me when he gets the credit card bill."

Looking at everything in the back of the truck, including two heavy duty hand pumps used for fuel, Kurt realizes that Sebastian had been the one to pay for everything, using his dad's card. Helping carry the truly massive amounts of chicken inside, Kurt stops on the sidewalk and turns to Sebastian.

"You... try to be less of an asshole than Puck. That's your goal. If at anytime, you're worse than Santana, I'll throw you out the window and let them have you. Got it?"

Smirking, Sebastian nods sagely. "Sure thing, babyface. If I'm ever more of a bitch than she is, just kill me straight out."

Mumbling, 'Don't tempt me', Kurt turns back to the house to see almost everyone staring at him. Shifting the bags, Kurt walks past them. "What?"

They all glance at each other. The only one seemingly not confused, is again Finn. It's been a really weird day. Puck nods like he's come to a decision.

"Okay, I'll be the one to ask. What the ever loving fuck was that?"

Kurt sighs, setting down the bags. "I've been friends with Dave for months, Noah. Time to get over it." He turns to Sam. "We don't have long before dark, maybe three or four hours. If we're going to explain everything, we need to do it, but first we have to eat."

Sam nods and gestures at the bags. "Everyone eat like it's your last day of eating fast food. Everyone needs to especially enjoy the chicken."

The meal that follows is... awkward at best. It takes longer than it should for everyone to settle down with a huge plate and eat. By the time they're done there's almost no left overs and the guys, except for Kurt and Sam, look like they can barely move. When everyone has finally settled back down, they all stare expectantly at Sam.

Clearing his throat, Sam stands up and moves in front of everyone to explain everything that's happened. Kurt grabs Sarah and pulls her onto his lap and hugs her from behind, sitting next to Puck. He's not sure how to explain to a ten year old about zombies being real when he's pretty sure she's never seen a zombie movie. He just hopes they don't traumatize her too much, she's going to get enough of that in the coming days.

* * *

The first thing Sam did was ask Dave what it looked like in town. Dave explained that he'd been all over, between the tractor supply and all the gas stations, then up to KFC... and it looked mostly normal. He'd told them no one was turned or anything, but at the gas stations around I-75 and the surrounding stores he could see people in the parking lots, looking around a lot. People looked worried or scared, and a few of them completely freaked out. For the most part though, there was nothing. Not if you didn't know something was going on. Most people probably didn't notice the way some of them were acting.

It's only when Sam starts recounting what Burt had said that Kurt's head snaps up. _Oh my god._

Looking over at Sebastian, who looks like he'd rather be anywhere else, Kurt can tell he doesn't believe them. He still hasn't bought into it, most of them haven't. They all look like they are only letting Sam get it all out of his system before they tell him 'Thanks for the meal but I'm going home, weirdos.'

But Kurt knows. He hasn't seen one yet, but he knows what's out there. His dad wouldn't joke about that. He wouldn't lie to Kurt about dying for anything in the world. So Kurt knows... every worse case scenario that's ever been thought of, they'll probably witness in the next week. They have to get out of here. Even Lima, as stupid, backward, and small as it is, is too big. The only somewhat safe places to be in a week, a month, or even longer are either the heavily populated where they can sneak, or the deserted where they can take over.

Now all they have to do is stop these guys from leaving before the shit hits the fan. Oh yeah, and he has to find a way to tell Sebastian that Burt had seen his father get killed. There's no way there was another Smythe from Ohio when Dave had said earlier that his friend's dad was in D.C. _Shit. How could I possibly get Sebastian to believe me?_

Kurt's thoughts are interrupted by Finn making rather obnoxious hand gestures from the very back of the room. Almost everyone is turned to Sam so no one else sees him but Kurt frowns at him questioningly. When Finn points vaguely at the tv, Kurt turns to it. On the screen the news has finally started. It's only about 5:30pm so they're early. _Well shit, that's probably not good news._

Kurt watches, no longer listening to Sam at all as the reporter looks like she's trying not to laugh but is struggling. After a few seconds, they switch to a feed outside only to find a camera has been dropped and no anchor is standing there. According to the feed, it says it's Columbus. Just when they're about to cut away, someone picks up the camera and runs with it, judging by the jumping, blurred picture. When Kurt gets his first glimpse of a guy wearing a buttoned up shirt eating... someone, it was hard to tell if they were a man or woman through the blood, Kurt interrupts the discussion.

"Sam... the news is starting."

The blonde faces the tv and snaps his mouth closed. He moves forward, weaving around people and turning it up. Then he sits in the floor in front of it. The person holding the camera seems to just decide to ditch it or had purposely wanted them to see this road, because he puts it down on a car and keeps running. You can hear his footsteps fade away, but the camera keeps rolling. It's clearly a crappy handheld and it's showing one of the major streets in Columbus, although they can't tell which one.

What they see is a group of four or five people... well, they were people a few hours ago, feeding on a person in a hoodie. Probably a college kid. In the background of the shot they can see a car on fire and many more piled up down the road like they'd wrecked. They can barely make anything out through the chaos. There are too many people running and screaming. After a couple of minutes, Finn changes the channel to a different station. This time it's Cincinnati. The running and screaming has stopped but there's dead people in the streets, and a horde of zombies feeding on them. More fire. More wrecks. More blood. Checking a few more channels shows similar views in different parts of the state. _I guess that's it for Everybody Loves Raymond._

Turning away from the tv when a zombie that's a little too small shambles by, Kurt turns Sarah away from it, facing her toward Puck who looks shell shocked. Kurt looks around the room at the non-believers. Well, they're convinced now. They're all staring at the tv in horror, even Finn, who was obviously clinging to some theory about this being a prank or a misunderstanding. Kurt tightens his grip on Sarah and kisses her head.

Puck glances at him before looking down at his sister. He must see something on her face that snaps him out of his shock because he reaches out for her and she climbs easily into his lap for the first time in years. Kurt was tactile with everyone, the Puckermans weren't. But this seemed to call for it.

Kurt stands, turning back to face Sam who's also been looking around the room. Sam nods his head toward the kitchen and they walk out together, almost everyone else still frozen, watching the news. Lowering his voice to almost a whisper, Kurt asks,

"Okay, what now? Do we block the doors and huddle in for a few days or what?"

Sam shakes his head. "We can't. We need more weapons. Some supplies. Not a lot, we can't afford to bust in someplace guns blazing yet. We need to gather up food and clothes, as many guns as we can find. I mean... there's nine of us. We only have a handful of guns, everyone should have at least one. We don't have enough high protein foods, or a first aid kit, lots of stuff. I need to make a smash and grab trip to town."

"Okay, when? In the morning, or?" Kurt glances back into the living room to see that they're starting to accept it, a few are crying. Puck is now squeezing Sarah so hard it looks like it hurts.

"No, now. Like, in the next half an hour, I'll be going." Sam nods back at the living room. "We need to get back in there before someone does something stupid."

When they walk back in, almost everyone looks up at them. Kurt sits down, rubbing his hand on Sarah's back and watching Sam. Stepping back up in front of everyone, he says, "Okay... so like I was saying earlier, there's zombies out there. It looks like they're either here, or will be very soon. My dad has been preparing for the grid to go down for most of my life, so I know more than most about what to do during an apocalypse. Anyone who doesn't like what I have to say can leave. I'm not debating. I'm not negotiating. I know what I have to do, and I'll do it. I have to get to my brother and sister, and they're in Kentucky. Anyone who stands in the way of that is going to lose. Just saying that now."

Kurt speaks up, mainly because he thinks he's the only one able to right now. "I love everyone in this room enough to not want them dead." He glances at Sebastian as if daring him to say a single word. He doesn't. He's just staring at the floor. "Some more than others, but regardless, I think we can all agree that if Sam knows what to do, we'll listen to him. We might argue about some things, but I don't think anyone here is so different that we would risk the people we love. Most of us are lucky enough that the people we love the most in the world, that are still alive, are in this room."

As he finishes, Sebastian's head snaps up. He looks at Dave, wild eyed and panicked. "Travis."

Kurt watches in confusion as Dave pales. "Where is he? At home?"

Nodding Sebastian pulls out his phone. "Should be. I have to get there, Dave. I can't leave him."

Kurt wants to scoff but holds himself back. Instead he grits his teeth a little. It's not like he doesn't understand. If he thought he could get Blaine out safely, he'd definitely consider going after him...

Trying not to think too much about why that doesn't seem completely true, Kurt slowly says, "You can't go after your boyfriend, Sebastian. Especially not if he goes to Dalton. That puts him in or near Columbus, you saw it. It's gone."

Sebastian stands up and steps toward Kurt looking like he's ready to throw a punch. Puck shifts Sarah to the couch and leans in-between them. Stopping at the defensive gesture, Sebastian glares at Kurt and then looks back to his phone, raising it up to his ear after a few seconds.

As it's ringing he bites out, "He's not my fucking boyfriend, gayface. He's my brother."


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian waits in the echoing silence for the call to be answered. When it is he jolts forward slightly.

"Trav?! Where are you?! … No! Stay at home! Have you watched the news? … … Hey! Calm down! It's fine! You're okay! We live far enough away that it should be safe enough. Lock all the doors, block the windows, make sure the front gate is locked and for fuck's sake, don't let anyone else in the house. I don't care if it's Dad or me, or fucking Santa Claus, okay? Don't open the fucking door! If your friend shows up, or your girlfriend, hide. Pretend you aren't home."

Sam speaks up, "It takes about an hour to change, for sure. Usually about half that, but according to Burt, never longer than an hour. He needs to get bottled water and food, maybe load up a cooler, and then go into a room without windows, a basement bathroom is best."

Nodding, Sebastian relays the message. Looking away from Sam, Sebastian says, "I'll come for you, okay? Just wait. Don't leave the fucking house. I don't know how long it will take to get there but just wait for me. It may take me a day or two, but I'll get there if I have to fucking walk, okay? ... I'll be there as soon as I can. Keep texting every two hours as long as the phones work, but keep it on the charger in case the power fails. Put the laptop and shit on chargers too. Then lock yourself in the bathroom. I love you. Don't do anything stupid."

After he hangs up the phone he grips it so tight it looks like it's going to crack. Eventually he chokes out, "He just turned 14. He can't do this shit alone. He's good at first person shooters, but he doesn't know how to work a real gun. He could be taught. We have all sorts of crap at our house. My dad buys all this shit, pretending we're this big happy family. He hasn't even told anyone that our mom ran off to Paris for 'vacation' three years ago and never came back. He keeps telling people she's away on a family emergency or a spa weekend. But dad buys all this camping equipment and tells people how we go on family trips. He buys us whatever we want, but can't spend a **day** with us." Finally stopping his verbal diarrhea, Sebastian looks up at them.

"We have to go get him. We have cars, trucks, professional grade tools... even though my dad doesn't know how to change the oil or anything. We wouldn't have hardcore stuff like the hand pump thing, but we have a lot of useful shit. He pays a company to buy our groceries, we just got a month's supply. We could go there and load up as much of it as you guys think we could use, but I have to go get him. If you guys won't come with me, I need to borrow a car. Or a bike. Or like I said, I'll walk."

Kurt gets up and walks over to Sebastian. When he's within arms reach, Seb jerks back like he's preparing for a hit. Instead, Kurt wraps his arms around Sebastian's shoulders and pulls him down into a hug. Panicking, Sebastian looks at Dave who just smiles sadly at him like it's normal. Which it is, for Kurt.

After a few seconds, Seb wraps his arm loosely around Kurt's back. When Kurt whispers in his ear 'Don't worry, we'll go get him. Even if Sam doesn't agree, we'll tie him up and throw him in the Nav.' Sebastian finally cracks, tightening his grip on Kurt's shirt and leaning his head down on his shoulder.

A few awkward minutes of silence pass before Santana speaks up, "Okay, as heartwarming as that is, now what?"

Broken out of their... whatever the fuck that was, Kurt and Sebastian spring apart and Seb moves back to sit by Dave, refusing to look up. Kurt sits on the arm of the couch next to Puck who's holding Sarah on his lap again. Finn is still looking the most stiff and unresponsive but everyone turns to Sam.

Nodding at Santana, Sam responds, "Well... I was just telling Kurt, we can't leave today. It's almost dark and it's not safe. Everyone will be out to escape and things are gonna get crazy. If it's already got Columbus, it's coming or here already. I need to hit a pharmacy and Walmart. We need guns, among other things. And the those will be gone by tomorrow. The best thing I can do is go now, while everyone else is still unaware or confused."

Kurt stands up. "I'm going with you. Two can carry more and you'll have someone to watch your back. We can stick together or split up depending on what it's like and get everything done faster."

Giving Kurt a steady look, the blonde asks, "Can you shoot a gun? With any amount of accuracy?"

Scoffing, the smaller boy folds his arms over his chest and cocks his hip. "My father is Burt Hummel. The .22 rifle you found is mine. I got it when I was 12. I haven't shot in a few years but yes, I can use a fucking gun."

Slowly, Sam nods. "Okay, fine. You can come too. Everyone else, stay here. Same rules as Travis got. Don't open the door, don't let **anyone** else in. From here on out, we're family. No one else is invited, because we don't know what they've been exposed to. I'm going to tell you right now, if I get bit I'm not going to lie about it. I'll do everything I can to get back here with the supplies I have and then I'm going to expect one of you to shoot me in the fucking head. I'll write down the address of my parents' house before we go. If I die, go there anyway. Not only to save my brother and sister, but because they'll have shit you guys won't even know you need. And Stevie knows most of what I do. Think of him as your pocket-sized Sam."

Kurt nods, looking around at everyone. "I wouldn't lie about it either. I would never risk you guys for false hope. I know that if I get so much as a scratch out there, I could become one of those things and I wouldn't let you guys bring me in here if I thought there was the slightest chance I could turn. I'll also take the option of being shot in the head. I didn't spend all my life taking care of my skin to become a zombie. Just please avoid the face."

When everyone agrees to the conditions, they all get busy locking the house down. While they talk about the best ways to cover the windows, Sam and Kurt walk off to talk in the kitchen.

"How are we doing this?"

Sam thinks for a few seconds. "Carole's car is still here, right?" At Kurt's nod, he continues. "We'll take it, or at least get as far as we can in it. If possible, I'd like to drive to Walgreens. We could take empty duffel bags and backpacks. We'll stuff them with whatever we can find and if the people in the back are gone or zombie'd, grab the good stuff. Painkillers, antibiotics, shit like that. Then we hit Walmart and head for the hunting section. They won't have handguns but we can load up a duffel with rifles and ammo. Grab some big ass knives or something. Anything we can use to kill quietly is a plus. Not to mention some high grade walkie talkies and CB radios if they have them. Some other little stuff. We can just get a shopping cart at first. if things look normal, we can just hang out and gather shit until it all goes to hell, then load up the bags and book it home. Just wait until no one is worrying about shoplifting."

Kurt sucks in a breath. "Right. Okay, that's going to be hard to get used to. Just grabbing shit. Especially before it starts. Okay. So, we need to figure out what guns to take with us. We can't carry long guns, we'll get stopped."

"Dave brought a double barrel shotgun. Better than not having one, but not real helpful for this. Your dad had a .32, and your .22 rifle. Do you know if he had anything else?"

Kurt stops to think for a minute. "He had a concealed weapons license, so I think there's a handgun in his truck. Check the glove box. I know he had a shotgun at the garage too, but obviously that's no help."

Sam heads out to the truck, grabbing the keys off the hook, he calls over his shoulder, "Find the biggest four bags we could carry without tying up our hands while I go look in the truck."

By the time he comes back in, Kurt has found a huge backpack that was made for hiking and his biggest messenger bag. He'd also grabbed Finn's football duffel and his own cheerleading bag from a few years ago. Rolling them all up, he sticks them inside the messenger bag and tries to make it look inconspicuous.

Sam comes in carrying Burt's 9mm with a single magazine. It's a 12 round clip, but he'll definitely need to get more ammo as soon as he can. _He probably kept it at the shop._

Sam checks the safety and then sticks it in the back of his jeans. He walks into the dining room where he'd laid out the guns before and grabs the .32 and some extra ammo, giving it to Kurt. After zipping the bullets into a side pocket on the bag and pocketing a loaded extra magazine, Kurt puts the safety on and then slides it into the back pocket of the bag.

Sam nods and leads him toward the stairs. "Okay, you need to change. Wear at least two thick layers on your arms and sturdy jeans. Make it stuff that's hard to bite through. Wear comfortable shoes in case we need to run, and keep in mind we might be running through blood. But make sure none of it's too tight, we can't afford to be limited in our movement."

* * *

After changing and going over the plan one more time, Kurt and Sam are about to leave when Sebastian runs out. "Wait!" When they turn to face him, he hands Kurt a bright blue credit card. "You don't know if it's started yet or not. Anything you can get legally before shit starts, get. Obviously I don't have to worry about explaining the bill anymore. There's no limit. If it wasn't for paperwork I'd tell you to go buy out a gun store."

With a smile, Kurt pockets the card. "Thanks, Sebastian. Have you heard from your brother again?"

"Yeah. He loaded a cooler and stuffed the bathtub with couch cushions. Now he's just watching Netflix on his tablet, but he's barricaded in the bathroom off the game room."

Sam grins, "That works. As long as all the doors and windows are locked up, he should be fine."

Sebastian shrugs. "He turned on the security alarm too. As long as the power stays on, he'll have the gate locked and motion activated cameras to at least tell him if someone shows up."

Sam claps him on the shoulder. "Good. Okay. We're going. If we don't come back, the information to find my house is on the dining room table. Tell Dave and Finn to take anything from the vehicles that's useful inside the house, we'll sort everything when we get back. Put the Nav and Dave's truck in the garage, those will be the ones we load up. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Kurt smiles hesitantly at Sebastian and follows Sam outside. They probably should have said 'bye' to everyone else, but frankly they didn't have time for tearful hugs. Time to man up and get going.

As he climbs into the passenger seat, Kurt looks down both directions of the street. No one's out, which says something on its own. It's only 6 but at least one or two people should be getting home from work by now. _Maybe they'd stopped for groceries... Well, let's hope they hit the bigger Walmart. Less people we have to fight for guns._

They only have to go about a mile and Sam spent the whole drive telling Kurt how lucky they are that they live so far from the interstate but still in town. The first place they stop is Walgreens. As they pull in he looks around, and nothing looks different.

From what he can tell it's just like Dave said, although they're considerably farther away from the interstate than he mentioned seeing it. People are looking around warily but still going about their business like everything is normal. _I guess they don't watch the news. Or their family is still in shock and hasn't called them. Or they just don't believe it._

Before they get out of the car, Sam turns to Kurt with a smirk. "So what the hell was that with Sebastian?"

Kurt scoffs, opening his door. "If anyone else in that room had needed a hug half as badly I wouldn't have hesitated. He's either part of this family or he isn't." Sam nods understandingly and follows Kurt inside.

As they each grab a rarely used shopping cart, Sam whispers, "Gather up everything you can without looking **too** suspicious. We have the card so it should be fine. Easy prep foods, especially ones high in protein, and any hygiene things you can think of. I'll hit the first aid supplies and medicines."

Kurt heads toward the food first, grabbing any lightweight boxes of granola bars or energy supplements. He grabs all their ramen, because it's easy and only requires water, and then he grabs every bottle of 5-hour Energy they have. Coffee is about to go out the window and they're going to need to stay awake. He also grabs another box of Cocoa Puffs, because he loves Brittany and she saved not just her own, but Santana's life.

Speaking of the girls, the first thing Kurt grabs in the hygiene aisle is tampons, the biggest box they sell, because ew. No one wants to know what it's like to run out of those. Then he grabs up all the hand sanitizer he can find along with antibacterial soap, three complete nail kits, and every pair of the most expensive tweezers that they carry. He spends a few minutes loading up in the hair aisle before grabbing sunscreen. Just because there are zombies out there doesn't mean skin cancer is no longer an issue. He's grabbing toothbrushes and toothpaste for the same reason -gum disease isn't going away- when Sam walks over.

Sam looks over his haul and actually laughs at the cereal before nodding to his own cart, filled with every battery in the store, multiple kinds of fever reducer, a wide variety of stomach medicines, vitamins, supplements, Nyquil, and every first aid product you could think of. Burn gels, Band-aids in every shape and size, Neosporin, Ace bandages, all the first aid kits, some reusable ice packs, breakable one-time-use ice packs, heat patches, and a hot water bottle, among other things. Deciding that they wouldn't be able to carry much more anyway, they head for the checkout. They're getting really strange looks but no one stops them. As they're waiting, Sam steps away and comes back with every five-pack of Bic lighters that they had and a giant bottle of lighter fluid used for grilling.

Now they're definitely getting some stares. The clerk looks like she wants to call the cops but decides to just ring them up instead. The total is staggering but Kurt just pulls the blue card out like this is normal and gives her a small smile. They really need to get out and get going.

They head out to the car, loading everything into the backseat and then each standing on one side, so they can help load everything into a bag without drawing attention. Kurt reaches into his messenger bag and pulls out his cheerleading duffel. Throwing it on the seat, they start to pack all of it carefully inside. After removing the packages on everything they can, they barely manage to shove everything but the Cocoa Puffs into the one bag. After making sure that the strap can still support the weight, they leave the overloaded bag in the backseat with the cereal sitting on top and get back in the car.

Sam drives slowly past the few parking lots between Walgreens and Walmart, still looking for signs of trouble. Kurt points to a few people that look like they're starting to really freak out. Some are clawing at themselves like they're itching, but most people seem to still not have noticed. _Too damn busy to realize the world is ending. Idiots._

As they pull into the lot, Kurt mutters, "I can't believe we're going to Walmart... isn't that exactly what everyone says **not** to do?"

Sam shrugs. "Yeah, but that's because everyone wants to head there when they figure out what's going on. We'll already be home with our shit before everyone else thinks about it."

Deciding that it'll all go down before they get a chance to tow him, Sam parks near the garden section of Walmart in what is technically a no parking zone, but has easy access to a door no one ever uses. It's around the side of the store, so they won't draw as much attention. Since nothing they got was irreplaceable yet, they chance leaving the bag in the car and go in. Not knowing how long they have, they don't split up this time, but they do each grab a cart.

The first thing they hit is the batteries because it's not too far away. The food is on the other side of the store, so they probably won't even go over there, instead they grab up whatever looks useful but small as they walk around, waiting on the chaos to start. They can't get the good shit until everyone else is more worried about getting out. They head to the camping and sports section and load up on more batteries, along with flashlights, high powered walkie talkies, and the only two handheld CB radios that they have.

"Shit! These things take 9 AA batteries each!" Kurt looks wide-eyed at Sam.

Nodding he says, "I'm going to run to electronics to grab some rechargeables and as many solar and car chargers for shit as I can find. If there's anything specific you think we need, get it now. Afterward, we hit the guns." After a few seconds of debate, Kurt heads for clothing and accessories. He finds the best leather jacket he can -it's thin but sturdy- and grabs one in his size and another one two sizes up, and slips them both on. Then he heads for the juniors department.

He's just made it back with his cart when Sam runs up. "It's starting." Not elaborating, he throws the armful of chargers and batteries into the cart and leads the way back toward the hunting section. When he gets there, a Walmart employee is leaning on the counter looking bored. Sam signals for Kurt to go back a row and wait. As Kurt hides, he hears Sam run up to the guy, panic in his voice.

"Sir! You have to help! There's a huge fight or something breaking out over at electronics! The clerk was being harassed and told me to run for help." Possibly seeing that the guy doesn't believe him, Sam yells out, "I think her name was Amanda! She was blonde and this other chick was grabbing at her shirt and threatening to pull her hair out or something!"

After he hears a set of footsteps running away, Kurt pushes the cart over. "What the hell was that?"

Sam shrugs, hopping the counter and pulling ammo off the shelves for Kurt to load directly into the duffel. All attempts at subtlety were now out the window. "The clerk in electronics was really hot. I figured if there was the chance to see a girl fight, he'd abandon his section. I know I would."

Kurt mutters, 'Straight boys...' and starts loading the other bags with the stuff from the cart while Sam drags out all the ammo he can get to without breaking glass. The clerk had taken off with the key, but frankly, who really cares? It's getting broken, just not yet.

Once everything has been loaded into the bags, only having to abandon a few things for being too cumbersome, Kurt checks the surrounding aisles one more time for anything useful. Deciding at the last second to replace his messenger bag with a huge camping backpack, Kurt grabs one and starts transferring things. At least now there was enough room for the stuff he'd left in the cart. He also grabs ponchos, bungee cords, duct tape, a huge roll of rope that he slips on like a belt, and two LED camping lanterns that are supposed to be good for weeks at one charge. After packing everything inside, Kurt hops over the counter, waiting on the signal that the end is nigh before they break the glass and take the guns and the last of the ammo. As they wait, Sam gets a sudden idea.

"Wait right here, duck behind the counter. If someone comes for the guns, shoot them. We can't afford to lose 'em."

Before Kurt can say a word, he's gone. As Kurt starts to hear screaming, he crouches down, pulling out his .32 and waiting. When he hears footsteps running his way, he stands up, holding up the gun and pointing it in that direction. The woman that runs up freezes when she sees him and without a word, turns and runs the other way. Just then, Sam comes back, leading two bikes as fast as he can.

"You want to break the glass and get the guns or mount the baskets on the front of these bikes?"

Staring at the blonde like he's a new species, Kurt decides, "Bikes. You know more about what we need."

Shrugging, he hops the counter as Kurt scrambles back over it. "That's easy, we need it all. Thus the bikes. I don't think the roads will be clear enough to drive."

They work as quickly as they can and within ten minutes, Kurt has secured the metal mesh baskets on the mountain bikes and turns to see if there's anything he can help with. What he sees is that Sam has stuffed ammo into every available space in not just the bags but his own pockets. He's also left a pile for Kurt to pocket and is now pulling down guns. He lays ten of them out on the counter and looks like he's debating something. Finally he snaps his fingers.

"You had bungee cords, where'd you get em?" Kurt points, still loading the pockets of both leather coats. Sam runs off again. When he comes back he has not just giant bungee cords but six machetes and some heavy duty camo jackets and pants. Laying the huge, obviously Finn-sized jacket and pants out, Sam wraps a gun and a machete in each as best as he can without them getting scratched up. Then he repeats the process with two more sets of clothes, leaving only four guns unwrapped. He lays three wrapped guns on top of the duffel bag, securing them with the cords. It's clear he means to do the same with the bag they'd left in the car.

Grinning in approval, Kurt turns to him. "Okay, what now? I still have some pocket room, the two jackets helped. And there's so many zippers..."

Sam nods. "Good. We're gonna need it. We have to hit the pharmacy on the way out, since we couldn't before. Not for the good shit. I did leave enough room in the camping backpack for some huge bottles. Let's hope we need it."

As they climb out from behind the counter one last time, Kurt looks at all their stuff. "This is going to suck so bad."

"Yep. Come here, I'll load you up." Kurt gets the sports duffel and the backpack they'd brought from home. He almost pitches backward because of it, but leaning forward on the bike seat helps. Then Sam sets two of the unwrapped rifles down, butt first, into the basket, draping their straps around his neck. All the basket had really done was take the weight off, but every little bit helps. Sam slides the camping backpack on and does the same with the rest of the rifles.

Before they head out for the pharmacy, Sam says, "I did load these four guns, by the way. But you should have your .32 where you can reach it."

Kurt nods, "It's in the inside pocket of the inner jacket. It'll be hard to get to, but it's kind of hard to move at all."

Sam nods before looking away, "Sorry, but at this point, better you than me. I won't be too heavily weighed down until we get outside. By then we just have to haul ass home. I'm so glad you live close."

As they ride through the store -Sam barely able to keep hold of the wrapped and bungee'd guns- they see people far off panicking, but that's mostly it. Sam had only seen two or three people that looked like they would turn into zombies since they got there, but he figured it'd be humans that were the problem. Thankfully, everyone seems to have headed for the doors, so that's where the most commotion was.

Also thankfully, the pharmacy had closed down at 7, so no one was there. Kurt refused to move off the bike, but had pulled out his gun and kept an eye out while Sam ran back and grabbed as many antibiotics and narcotic painkillers as he could find. He also grabbed muscle relaxers and sleep pills, just in case. After shoving these into any available spots they had left, they finally decided to head out. Pulling his gun out and putting it in the basket for easy access, Sam leads the way, Kurt struggling to keep up.

They could hear something moving around in an aisle in the gardening section but they blew right passed it, headed for the doors. Stopping just outside the doors to look around, they can see the chaos is spreading out from the main roads. Being in Walmart had actually shielded them. There weren't many people in there that turned, but on the streets... there were already cars piled up and echoing screams. They could see more zombies just looking down both sides of the street than they'd seen in any one shot on tv so far.

"Sam! We have to get out of here before more people think to hit the stores. Your plan worked, we got there first, awesome! Now let's get **home**."

Breaking out of his slight stupor, the blonde hops off the bike and opens the backseat of the car. He grabs the cheerleading bag, quickly fixing the guns to it, and tries to fit it over the backpack. Eventually he has to concede and take everything off, starting over. Once he's almost as weighed down as Kurt, he climbs back onto the bike, putting Brittany's cereal in the basket of the bike, looping the gun straps back on and shoving his pistol back in his waistband. "Okay, let's get the fuck out of here."


	4. Chapter 4

As they weave their way through back roads, Kurt realizes just how much he owes Sam. The warning, time to accept it, and taking the chance being in town when it hit is what's probably going to save all of their lives. The main roads are clogged with cars trying to escape or get home, most still inhabited by living people, but panicked ones. One thing most apocalypse movies have in common is the idea that the real threat is other people. Hell, Kurt had known that since Black Friday, 2008.

After they get away from Allentown Road, they cut through yards and side roads until they get back to Kurt's. They stop once for a break because, while Sam works out regularly, Kurt is more of a yoga kind of guy, and he's winded something fierce by the time they get back. It's been hours, and Kurt can tell the guys have been working. He can't see inside any of the windows and the place looks abandoned. They'd managed to make it back before dark, but barely. The sun had set while they were cutting through someone's backyard two streets over.

Climbing off the bikes, Kurt bangs on the garage door while Sam starts unwrapping the straps from himself. When the giant metal door lifts, they dart inside, Kurt closing it before pulling off his own bags and guns. They hear Finn from the other side of the door leading into the actual house.

"Hey guys! Did you both make it back, uh... in one piece?"

Kurt laughs. "Yes, Finn. We're fine! We got way more than I thought we could. I may need some of those muscle relaxers after this." He says the last part to Sam, glaring at him for making him carry so much.

Sam just shrugs, "That **is** an option, thanks to the awesome haul." When Finn still makes no move to unlock the door, Sam shrugs and turns to Kurt. "So now what?"

Kurt bites his lip before calling out, "Finn! We're going to just wait in here for an hour, so you know we're not gonna turn. We never even saw one too close up though, getting there before it started really helped."

After a few seconds of mumbled debate from behind the door, it opens. "Good enough for us. If you were willing to wait, you're probably fine." Finn, Puck, and Dave are the only ones standing there. The only other noise in the house is coming from upstairs.

Sam shakes his head but moves inside, dragging the bags. "For future reference, that's bullshit. We **are** fine, but from now on, make anyone that returns like this wait for an hour. Especially if nothing pressing is going on. Better safe than sorry."

As they pull the bags up on the dining room table and start unwrapping the extra rifles, Kurt asks, "So did anything else happen while we were gone?"

"Nope. We mostly just gathered whatever we could. We were going to start on clothes next." Finn opens the hiking backpack and starts pulling things out.

Sam is unloading the Walgreens stuffed-bag, Kurt picks the sports duffel, and Puck takes the last backpack. Dave just nods at them. "I'm going to go tell them that you're back. Thanks for going, guys."

Puck flops down in a chair, still pulling out bullets, batteries, and duct tape, and sighs angrily. Sam glances at him, "What's up, man? Just normal 'end of the world' shit, or...?"

Puck looks up at him, definitely seeming pissed at something. "Everyone has clothes... even Santana, because Brittany packed her some. Sebastian doesn't, but we're headed to his house. All **you** guys live here. Hell, even I apparently have left enough stuff here that I'll be alright, not to mention we're the same size so I could use yours. What the fuck am I going to do about Sarah? My dumbass didn't believe you, so we didn't bring a damn thing with us. She has one set of clothes to her fucking name now."

Surprisingly, Kurt giggles. When he's met with a hazel glare he puts his hands up, "Sorry! I wasn't laughing at you. I just saw this coming. While we were in Walmart I hit the girls' section." Digging through the other side of the duffel, Kurt pulls out three pairs of small, sturdy jeans and four t-shirts, including a long sleeve one. He also pulls out a pack of underwear and a lightweight jean jacket. "That'll probably be too big, but I figured she needed growing room. I probably also have some stuff stashed away in the attic that would fit her, if we had to. From freshman year... I was **tiny**."

Sam and Finn just grin knowingly at each other and keep unpacking. Puck looks shocked into stillness. After not getting a response, Kurt adds, "I also got some hairbrushes, hair ties, pins, and clips for the girls. And some good scissors. I think you should consider letting me cut Sarah's hair off to chin length. We won't have time to play with it or take care of it. As long as she can pull it back in a pony, that should be long enough until this settles a bit." Nothing but more silence. "Or... um. Not. Whatever. I'm gonna just shut up now?"

Kurt looks at Finn for help, trying to convey, 'He's your friend, do something!' without actually saying it. He's not looking, so he gets no warning, just a sudden bear hug that almost puts him on his ass. Steadying himself with a hand on the back of a chair, Kurt realizes he'd been tackled by Puck who is murmuring into his neck, "Fuck... thank you. I can't believe you'd think of getting her clothes while you're out there waiting on people to try **eating you**. Thank you so fucking much, Kurt."

Patting Puck on the back, Kurt giggles again. "It's fine, Noah. Of course I thought of her. Right now she's the most vulnerable member of our family. Well, besides Finn, but at least his size would scare off live people. They've never seen how bad he sucks at COD."

When Puck finally steps back and resumes unloading the last bag, they all start talking about other stuff, pretending nothing happened. Standard practice with Kurt. Sure, they all snuggled with him to watch movies and keep him warm, but they sure as hell didn't talk about it. They're dudes.

When everything has been spread out, Kurt looks at it in amazement. "How the ever loving shit did we get all this home?!"

"Damn! That's what I want to know, Lady Lips." Santana walks in, followed by everyone else. As they all stand around the table, Brittany squeals, grabbing for the Cocoa Puffs.

Sebastian blinks at Kurt. "Why the hell are you wearing leather... let alone two?"

Realizing that he's still wearing both jackets, Kurt strips the bigger one off. "Oh! Well, Sam said to wear tough but thin layers, I saw these and thought they were perfect. I put on a second one for someone else. Given recent events..." Kurt holds it out to Puck. Even if he does have a few shirts and jeans here, he definitely doesn't have a coat. And yeah, he's about Sam's size, but having something that's just his isn't a bad thing.

Puck takes the jacket and nods, trying not to make an ass of himself again. He's already beating himself up for his little display over a couple pairs of jeans for his sister. Not that he doesn't appreciate both, but let's not turn into a total wuss right when being a badass is most important, okay?

Looking back over their new stock, Santana laughs. "Okay, which one of you got tampons? Because seriously, that's hilarious."

Kurt mutters "Shut up, Santana. You're going to be a big enough bitch when the time comes. If it's before we manage to do a good store run, I'd like to not be tempted to kill you just for convenience."

Brittany is still just hugging her new box of cereal. Shaking his head, Kurt looks over to Sarah and hands her the clothes he got her. "Here sweetie, take these and go try them on. Make sure everything fits okay, then go put them on my bed. I'll pack them with my stuff since I don't think Noah has a bag yet."

Sarah squeals, a bit too much like Brittany had, and takes the clothes upstairs after giving Kurt a quick hug and thanking him.

Sam finally speaks up when she's gone. "Okay, speaking of clothes, we need to gather up whatever we have and get it packed. For those of us that live here, time to get sorting. For future reference, everyone should be aware of a few things. Shoes are now a hot commodity but things like heels and sandals are useless. If you can't run in them faster than you can barefoot, don't put the damn things on. For probably the rest of our lives, you need to always be able to run. The world can go to shit at any minute, no matter how settled we get. Especially since we don't actually know what started this."

Looking around at everyone, he continues, "Layers are your friend. Have as many light layers as you can. All of us will need at least one light jacket made of jean or leather, a hoodie to wear under it and a parka for when it gets cold. Other than that, as many jeans as you can find because they last longer than anything else and they're hard to bite through. Socks too, as many as we can find. I grabbed four sets of camo gear to wrap the guns in, they should fit most of us. Kurt and Dave, probably not."

Dave laughs, "Yeah, no. Walmart never has my size. Usually I have to go to big and tall places. It's why I didn't hesitate to pack everything I own and some of the sturdier things my dad has, because we're close to the same size."

Finn clears his throat. "Kurt and I should go through our parents' room. See if there's clothes and stuff that can be used. Especially for the girls." Kurt agrees, rubbing his hand on Finn's arm as they all turn back to Sam.

"We've got tonight. It's still early, barely dark, so we have a few hours before we need to sleep. Pack up as much of the house as we can but only take things that we need. We'll start bringing everything in here. We're taking the Navigator, obviously, and Dave's truck, since it's an extended cab. We'll pack them up first thing in the morning. I don't want to make too much noise at night."

After that, they split up. Kurt tells Santana and Britt to head to the attic and look for anything they can use, especially old clothes that could work for Sarah, not just now, but maybe in a few years if they're in good enough shape. Sam and Puck head up to Finn's room to pack up everything any of them could use. Sarah is still in Kurt's room doing god knows what. Dave and Sebastian hit the kitchen after being told what to look for nutrient wise. Kurt and Finn head for the last bedroom.

When they walk in, they take a minute to look around before moving forward. Finn takes Burt's stuff and Kurt takes Carole's, because it just seems easiest that way. As Finn starts pulling out boots and flannel shirts, Kurt sorts through jeans and thicker shirts. Deciding to take three of Carole's nicest but simplest dresses, Kurt tosses them on the bed. Maybe one day they'll be comfortable enough that it won't seem too frivolous. After dragging out every jacket and belt she owned, Kurt turns to the mountain of clothes Finn has unearthed.

Smiling sadly, Kurt notices that a good portion of them are clothes he'd told his dad to throw out. Now he's glad he didn't, they need work clothes. Grabbing their biggest suitcases, Kurt starts folding and piling everything inside while Finn walks to the dresser. He sits on the corner of the bed and opens the jewelry box. It's too big and unwieldy to take with them, but the actual jewelry they can take. Finn tucks most of it in a side pocket inside the suitcase, only keeping one long chain and the wedding rings his own dad had given her. After slipping them around his neck and tucking them under his shirt, he nods at Kurt before looking around one more time and walking out.

Kurt zips up the last bag and looks around too. They'll send someone in later to gather up the blankets and sheets, but it won't be him. He can't come back in here. He goes to the closet and pulls out the heavy scarf he'd given Carole for Christmas a few months after the wedding. He also takes his dad's favorite hat. He'd stopped wearing it last year because it was too frayed, but he'd kept it. Kurt goes into his room, and puts them on the bed next to Sarah's clothes. He can hear her chattering to Puck in Finn's room and starts his own packing.

A lot of his things are useless now, too delicate or restricting. He packs up his favorite outfit that doesn't require too many layers though, even if he doesn't really have a use for it. He packs every pair of jeans and long sleeve shirt that he owns. He's actually pretty lucky. Since he gets cold so easy, he has more long sleeves than most and will have more layers than probably any other two people combined. And his stuff should fit the girls in a pinch.

He's just set his second, and last, bag down on the floor when there's a knock on his door frame. Turning, he sees Puck looking hesitant. "Santana and Britt found your clothes from freshman year. A few pairs of jeans will work for her with a belt, and most of the shirts are closer than they should be. Did you not eat back then?"

Kurt huffs, but smiles. "Shut up, Noah. Yes I ate... sometimes."

Puck looks around the room for a few seconds, walking over to the giant mirror above the dresser and all the pictures stuck to it of the New Directions from various competitions. Kurt walks over with a box and starts putting them inside it. He'd already added his prom pictures to the already full box of school events and friends. This one small box was all that remained of most of his friends. Or at least it would be, by the end of the week. Puck puts the last picture on top, nationals just a few short weeks ago, Kurt sucks in a deep breath.

"Life sucks."

Puck chuckles, but it's more sad than anything. "Beats the alternative." Kurt turns to smile at him. After a few seconds, Puck clears his throat and goes to say something but is interrupted by Finn who barges in.

"Hey guys, move! We need to get the mattress." He's followed by Sam, Dave, and Sebastian. Sam tells Seb to take the suitcases downstairs and put them with the others and tells Kurt to grab anything else out of here that he wants to take and get it down there too, including any bags or suitcases he hadn't packed; they need empty ones too.

He just watches, confused, as they quickly strip his comforter and flat sheet off the bed, Dave and Finn carrying the mattress out the door and down the hall while Sam gathers the linens back up and follows them. Kurt and Puck turn to stare at each other before shrugging. Puck follows them and Kurt takes one last tour around his room, gathering up anything he can think of that would still be necessary. When an idea hits him, he goes to his closet and pulls out his sewing machine, still packed up in it's heavy duty case. He opens it and throws in his sewing kit and all his extra needles and spools of thread that he can fit before closing it back up and dragging it out to the hall.

After he's moved everything else to the dining room in a big box, he hunts down Sam. He finds him in Finn's room putting the blankets back on Kurt's mattress. Finn's furniture had been stacked against the window or moved out to the hallway to make room for it in the floor. The room is now at least 75% mattresses. Shaking his head in confusion, Kurt flags down Sam.

"Hey! I don't know where we'll end up, but if there's a chance of us going somewhere with electricity, we should take my sewing machine. I've been making my own clothes for years, so I could conceivably make us more when we run out or if the kids get too big or whatever. It's heavy, so I put it in the hallway."

Sam grins, "Good idea, Kurt! Yo, Dave! Can you go grab that and take it downstairs?" As Dave starts moving toward the door he adds, "Tell everyone to wrap it up and get up here, we need to sleep."

That's when Kurt notices all the guns are propped in the corner. There's a flat of water bottles next to them and all the blankets in the house had been piled on the beds. _Oh my god. We're all sleeping in here... this is gonna get_ _ **awkward**_ _._

When everyone starts crowding around in the hall trying to get through the door, Sam calls out, "Everyone make sure your shoes are super clean. We aren't taking them off to sleep so unless you want to hear about it for the rest of your life..."

Kurt is already in the back of the room and as he watches everyone pile in, he has a really bad feeling about how this is going to go down. Santana right away claims her spot with Brittany on the actual bed. It takes a lot of squabbling, but eventually they settle on Finn and Sam sleeping up there on either side of them. It was their room and having Finn sleep on the same bed as Dave was pretty impossible.

Kurt's bed is bigger but they have more people. It's only as Kurt catches Sebastian's eye and gets a huge wink that he points at him. "Hell no. I'm not sleeping with Sebastian Smythe. Gratz Dave! You get to play buffer!"

They finally lay out with Puck pressing his back against Finn's bed, Kurt curled up facing him, with Sarah between them. Kurt is back to back with Dave, who has Sebastian all but pinned to the wall. It's a tight fit, but it's not as bad as it should be since Sarah and Kurt are so thin. Kurt is a little uncomfortable with his face less than six inches from Puck's but it beats the hell out of having Sebastian touch his person.

Sam and Finn are both sitting up and holding guns. They'd gotten first watch. In a few hours or whenever they start to get too tired, they'll wake up Santana and Britt. Eventually they'll wake up Kurt and Puck. _Good thing I don't sleep much anyway._

Tomorrow night it'll be Dave and Sebastian that take first watch. Kurt doubts there will ever be a time when everyone will be asleep at the same time ever again. Not even in their 'home', where ever that turns out to be.

Sam and Sebastian had both called their brothers again and they'd all seemed fine. Travis had apparently just been staying online while it lasts and trying to learn as much as he can about things he deems important. The Netflix he'd been watching was zombie movies. Kurt had thought that seemed a little stupid, because that was their life now, no need to watch a movie on it, but maybe he'll pick up tips or something. As Kurt finally drifts to sleep, he feels finger tips brush against his arm but doesn't open his eyes.

* * *

Kurt is jolted awake by Puck flicking his ear. When he sees the mohawk'd boy staring down at him with a grin, he groans softly, attempting to roll over. Only when he fails to do so does he remember that Dave is behind him. Puck sits up, putting his back against the bed. Kurt gets up and moves to sit beside him, adjusting Sarah to give her more room where their heads had been and a place to put their feet. After that he accepts the gun he's handed and the half bottle of water, which he drinks.

He turns to watch Santana and Brittany settle between the boys, clearly able to slide right back into sleep now that they're allowed. _Lucky bitches. If I had been woken up in the middle like that, there's no way in hell I'd be able to go back to sleep. I need to talk to Sam about keeping me on first or last watch._

When he checks his phone, Kurt sees it's 3am. Puck whispers, "Apparently Sam wants us up at 5 to pack the trucks. Out by 7 at the latest. Preferably 6."

Kurt just nods, afraid of waking anyone else up. It only takes Kurt about five minutes to get restless. He's not stupid enough to say he's bored, because those are famous last words, but...

Someone, probably Sam, had covered a lampshade with some of his thinner shirts so that it gave off very little light, barely more than a nightlight, but it was placed over their heads so at least they could see to read or something... if only he had a book. Turning to Puck he sees him sitting with a spiral notebook, writing or drawing something. Kurt wants to look but knows that it's rude... instead he huffs and pulls out his cellphone. He tries to find something to do to keep him busy but without sound he can't really focus on anything and being on guard duty is useless if you can't hear noises.

He's almost to the point of pulling his hair out when Puck nudges him. Looking over, he sees Puck holding out a pencil and showing him the pad of paper he'd been using. He'd filled an entire sheet of paper with dots, evenly spaced. At the top he'd scrawled,

_**You know how to play this, right?** _

Nodding, Kurt makes the first line. They spend the next hour and a half playing Dots and Boxes. A few times they'd both growled or huffed loud enough to worry about waking people up, but at the end, Kurt had been the undisputed winner. They only stop when Sarah shifts a little, making them wonder at the time. With only ten minutes to spare until 5, they stop and stretch a little, preparing for what will probably be the longest day of their lives. If not the last one.

None of the shifts had been disturbed enough to get up and even check the windows but they'd all heard shuffling and the occasional distant scream. It had tapered off awhile ago, though. They hadn't heard anything at all for an hour, so Kurt figured the zombies were migrating back toward town now that people were settled in for the night. He can't imagine anyone is stupid enough to go scavenging at night. If they had, they would have just been more food for the undead. Or whatever they were.

When the time comes, they start waking people up. Sarah pops up like a daisy, like she'd just been waiting on her day to start, which according to Puck was normal. Dave sat up easily enough but Kurt had left him in charge of poking Sebastian into getting up, since he'd just glared and tried to roll over. It had taken the reminder that they needed him to text Travis to get his ass moving.

Everyone else got up fairly easily except for Finn who slept like the dead. Kurt waved everyone out. As they shuffled to the door he explained that he had waking Finn up down to an art-form. Once everyone was standing in the hall, but still watching, Kurt reached behind Finn's nightstand and grabbed a squirt bottle. Making sure that it was on the right setting, Kurt sprayed Finn in the dead center of his face five times before running for the door.

Finn swung his arm out to take a punch at whatever it was, growling out grumbling noises. After about 20 seconds he finally blinked his eyes open, looking around. Seeing Kurt standing at the door he grumbles out, "Thanks, Kurt." and gets up. Kurt just shrugs at the assembled group and walks out the door.

* * *

The girls take charge of making breakfast out of whatever food is left but too perishable to take with them while the guys load everything into the two trucks. They collapse the biggest part of the back row of seats to make room for more stuff in the nav, which means they can only fit five people.

At 6:45 they manage to load everything in. The two handguns are given to Sam and Santana, so each car has one. Everyone but Sarah also has a rifle. Dave is driving his truck with Sebastian riding shotgun and the girls in the back. Kurt will drive the Nav with Sam up front, Puck and Finn in the middle row, and Sarah in the back.

Just before they loaded in, Puck had stopped Sam who was mumbling about a lack of pistols. He'd explained that there was a pawn shop pretty much right across the street from his apartment building and that he got to know the owner really well. He'd said that between pawning off gifts he'd gotten from cougars and the guy watching Sarah if she made it home a few minutes before he did after school, the old man had taken a liking to him.

He'd never questioned where Puck had gotten the 'gifts' and he'd always been really glad about that. Sure, they were given to him, but he's also pretty sure they were taking them from their husbands as punishment for neglecting them, or whatever. Women were crazy, Puck didn't try to understand.

Eventually the old man had shown Puck where he kept merchandise that had a bit of a shadier background. He didn't take stuff from just anyone, and he definitely didn't sell it to just anyone, but he did deal with certain people. And he had to keep that stuff hidden in case cops showed up. Given that the man lived on the outskirts of Lima, he probably wasn't there to defend his shop last night. The guns upstairs that were left out on display have almost certainly been taken, but anything he'd hidden would probably still be there.

Deciding that it was worth the risk for a few more guns, especially since it was pretty much on the way to I-75, Sam had agreed to stop by there.

While they talked about it, Kurt tapped Sebastian on the shoulder. _I have to tell him, and it needs to be before we get to his brother._

When Sebastian turns around he cocks an eyebrow at Kurt.

Ignoring the mocking smirk aimed at him, Kurt asks, "Uh... when was the last time you heard from your father?"

Face shuttering a little, Sebastian straightens. "Early yesterday. About an hour before I told Dave and he talked to you. Why?"

Kurt crosses his arms and shifts his feet. "When... when I called my dad, he said he got out of the main room with a group of guys from Ohio. He said that one of them let in a guy that was infected and they didn't know it. That guy turned and managed to kill a few people, including my dad. And from what he said, although I didn't realize it at the time... probably yours too. He said 'Smythe'. There can't be too many of those in Ohio."

Staring at Kurt for long seconds, Sebastian asks, "Your dad... is Burt Hummel, right?" Kurt nods. "I should have put that together, but I never did. My dad said he was hiding with a congressman."

After several long seconds of silence, they're interrupted by Sam calling out for everyone to get in the trucks. Sebastian clears his throat and mumbles, "Thanks, Kurt. At least I know."

Nodding, Kurt gives him a sad smile and turns to get in the nav. As they all load up, Sam puts one of the CB radios in the glove box, but puts a walkie talkie in the cup holder. Apparently the CBs are for emergency use because of the high number of batteries needed.

No one knows what to expect when the garage door opens, but no one expected clear, resounding silence. As they pull out onto the road, Kurt looks all around and doesn't see a single sign of human or... non-human. Sam just grins.

"It's good news. Means people probably haven't gotten to the stores or anything yet today."

Puck directs Kurt to head toward his apartment, staying on Elm but to turn on Elizabeth Street. When they pull up in front of Kohn's, they find the store looking a little worse for wear, but intact. It's clear they aren't the first ones there. Kurt makes it a point to only look around for moving things. He has no desire to see what's in the abandoned cars in the middle of the road. The splashes of blood littering part of the sidewalk are bad enough.

As everyone but Sarah steps out, holding a rifle, Sam decides, "Okay. Since we don't know what's in there, Sarah and the girls stay out here with Finn to watch the trucks. Shoot anything that gets within ten feet. Even if it's living. Time for playing nice is over. Santana at least, shouldn't have a problem with that."

Smiling a little too widely, the Latina pipes up with, "Nope. I have no problem shooting anyone dumb enough to fuck with us. We got places to go and people to save from being eaten."

Shaking his head, Sam says, "Right." Turning to Finn, he says, "Just keep an eye on those two. We shouldn't be long."

As Kurt, Sam, Dave and Sebastian follow Puck inside, they see more evidence of a shoot out or something. There's no sound, but plenty of empty casings and some more blood is scattered on the floor. The first thing they do is clear both floors of the small shop. Finding no sign of movement, Puck, Sam, and Kurt leave Dave and Sebastian to go over the second floor, where most of the guns had been kept before. They're told to grab any ammo they find and then Sam leads the other two back downstairs.

Puck steps behind the counter and pulls up a floorboard. After digging for a bit, he pulls up a huge green metal army issue ammo can. Inside they find an assortment of jewelry, two iPads, a laser sighted .380, a .45, and a black Desert Eagle. Puck is especially excited over the .50.

They only find one box of ammo for each gun inside the can, but Sam assures them that some of the ammo he'd grabbed from Walmart had been for handguns. They had more for everything but the Desert Eagle, which he stressed to Puck would have to be for emergencies only. Finding more ammo for it would be hard, if not impossible.

They're taking the useless items out of the ammo can -because Sam seems really excited about keeping it- when Finn walks in.

"Hey guys, what the hell's taking so long? I'm bored out of my mind."

Having just finished packing in everything, Kurt and Puck had moved to look around the surrounding shelves, looking for anything else they could use. Sam glances up at him as he shuts the can.

"Sorry, it took awhile. We just-" He cuts himself off, looking up at Finn in exasperation. "Finn! Dammit! What are you doing inside? You're supposed to be watching the trucks, and more importantly, the girls!"

Finn jolts. "It's fine! We didn't see anything. And Santana is more than capable of looking after them. She has the .32 **and** a rifle."

Biting out, "Yes, but she's with her girlfriend! Now they're alone. Is there even the slightest chance that they're not taking advantage of that?! Dammit, Finn!" Sam stands and heads for the door, Kurt and Puck following close behind.

When they step outside, Sam pulls his .9mm up, training it on the asshole that, sure enough, is holding Brittany with a knife to her neck, having pulled her from the truck. Sam can tell from the redness on their faces that she and Santana had been making out, not watching out for other people. There are three guys hiding behind Brittany, who is staring wide eyed at Santana. While the smaller girl does have her gun aimed at the man, it's clear shes too afraid of missing to shoot.

Luckily the other two guys hadn't made it to the nav, and Sarah must be hiding, because she was no where to be seen. One guy had obviously been heading in that direction because he was stopped only about five feet from the back door.

All of the guys pull their rifles out and aim them. They start to edge closer to the group of men, Sam calling out, "You can't win this. At most, you'll be able to kill her, but I promise you, you do that, and not a single one of you walk away."

Kurt can tell by Sam's calm that he could make the shot. He just needs a distraction, and he's hoping that Britt will manage to move away a little more. He's just thought of a way to do both when he notices that the guy by the nav has been slowly moving closer to it this whole time.

Not wanting to draw attention too soon, by calling out to Sam, Kurt swears mentally. Gripping his rifle, he moves quickly to press the barrel against the back of the guy's head just before he can reach for the door handle. Looking over the guy's shoulder, Kurt can see Sarah staring at them with wide eyes.

Kurt swears again. "The only thing saving you from having your head blown off is that the little girl staring at me is having a rough enough week without adding seeing your brains to it. You make one fucking move and that consideration disappears. Sarah, sweetie, lock the doors and close your eyes, okay?"

After hearing the locks click, Kurt grabs the back of the guy's shirt and turns him to where he's between the group of assholes and Kurt. He notices that throughout his little moment of drama Sam hadn't moved, still pointing his gun at the asshole holding Britt. Trying to keep his voice calm, Kurt says, "Okay, here's what we're going to do." Taking a minute to make eye contact with Brittany, he calls out, "Single Ladies, Britt!"

In the next second, Brittany knocks the knife away enough to bend down, her hair flying over her shoulder. Sam takes the shot and the guy falls down, knife skittering away. Training his gun on the other guy, Sam calls out, "Come on, Britt, Tana, time to go."

As the girls move quickly, Kurt pushes the asshole he's holding forward to join his still living friend. Sam grits out, "You've got ten seconds to go, or we kill you too."

As the footsteps fade, Puck runs to the nav, calling for Sarah to open the door. Kurt glances over and sees her jump out into Puck's arms, crying and trembling. He turns just in time to be met with a slightly hysterical Brittany. "Thank you, oh my god, thank you so much."

Before Kurt can point out that he hadn't actually saved her, that was Sam, she moves on to the other blonde and glomps him too. Grinning, Kurt turns to tell Finn, "Go get Dave and Sebastian, they're upstairs."

Sam calls out, still buried in Brittany, "Also grab the green metal box, carefully, and bring it and anything else you see at a glance in there, we gotta get going."

Finn nods, obviously upset with himself for leaving the girls out here alone. Which he should be, but Kurt's really not in the mood to fight about it. Kurt is broken out of his thoughts by Santana reaching up to hug him too, harder but much less enthusiastically.

"Why the fuck did you yell 'single ladies'?"

Kurt grinned, pulling back. "Sophomore year, that was the only move in the whole routine she had trouble with. Couldn't get the hair flip right. We spent forever working on it."

When he steps back so that Santana can go save Sam from her hysterical girlfriend, Kurt grins at him. The blonde nods and pockets his pistol before slipping his rifle back over his shoulder. He turns to help Finn store the ammo can in the back of the nav, Dave and Sebastian putting another box back there too, mostly full of gun holsters, knives, and ammo. Finn seems to have explained what happened, because no one says much.

As they load back into the trucks, Kurt opens his door to get in only to be stopped by Puck who looks like he wants to tackle him the way Brittany had. Seeing the jock struggling with emotions, Kurt hugs him quickly and whispers. "It's fine, Noah. I love her too. I'm just glad she's okay."

He nods stiffly and climbs into the back seat, darting looks back at Sarah every few seconds. Kurt smiles, getting back behind the wheel.

Ignoring the dead body still spread out on the sidewalk, they pull away from the curb. The next thing they hear is Santana over the walkie talkie saying,

"That's one hell of a way to say goodbye to Lima."


	5. Chapter 5

They'd decided to avoid going any further into town so they head straight down Reservoir Road, toward I-75. There's no entrance ramp, but since they don't have to worry about cops, they pull off road and go around the guard rail. The incline is a bit steep, but the trucks handle it fine and soon they're on the way south.

Since most of the mayhem had gone down only about 15 hours ago, the road is still fairly clear. There are cars stopped or wrecked occasionally, but they have no problems getting around them.

When Dave tells them, via walkie talkie, that there's a tiny town only a few miles away that has two gas stations and maybe a grocery store really close to the interstate, they decide to try their luck. They figure that few people would have ventured out already.

When they pull off into Cridersville, they're almost immediately met with a Speedway and a truck stop. Pulling into the truck stop first, everyone opens their doors and looks around.

Sam pulls Puck away for a second before asking, "Do you think that Sarah can handle the .22? Lots of girls her age shoot, and that really freaked me out. We can't leave her like that again. Not that we didn't all learn what not to do, but still."

Puck sighs, "Yeah. She can probably handle it. When we get a chance to go over safety, I'll feel better about it, though. For now, if you left one in the back seat with her, I'd be okay with that." Shifting on his feet a little, Puck asks, "Uh, can I be one of the people to stay with the cars? I can't leave her alone yet."

Sam claps him on the shoulder. "Totally understandable dude, no problem. I'll still leave the girls out here with you, if that's okay. I doubt they'll make that same mistake twice, and they could probably handle guard duty better than clearing. Just stay in the truck with the doors locked. Honk if you see anything."

Puck nods and heads for the other truck. "Thanks, man."

Sam opens the back of the nav and pulls out the extra handguns, loading them quickly. When he's done, he steps back to think. After a few seconds he passes the .45 to Kurt. He hands the .380 to Sebastian, telling him not to get attached, that he wants to give it to his brother when they get to Kentucky. Laughing, Seb says, "No problem."

He gives the Desert Eagle to Puck but tells him again, "Don't shoot it unless you have to. Stick with your rifle."

Finn taps Sam on the shoulder and passes him a 9mm. "Wha- where did you get this?"

Shrugging, Finn sticks his hands in his pockets. "It was in the floor at the pawn shop. It's out of ammo so I guess whoever had it just dropped it. It was sticking out under a shelf."

Grinning widely, Sam reaches into the side pocket on his own suitcase where he'd stuffed some ammo for his gun. "Awesome, dude! You want it?"

Finn waves his hands and steps back. "Nah, man. I'm a horrible shot. Burt tried to teach me but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I'll stick with the hunting gun."

Sam nods, punching him on the shoulder. "Okay, I'll give it to Dave. Thanks, man!"

After everyone checks their guns and the people staying get back in the trucks, they head inside to gather up what they can and check for extra gas cans.

Sam leads the way, and opens the door. Finn holds it open and tries to stay out of the way. Trying to draw attention, Sam knocks over a huge metal rack full of magazines next to the door. Two zombies come stumbling out of aisles and get blasted by everyone not holding a door. Sam laughs.

"Okay, we need to organize that better, we're wasting ammo. Go with whatever is closest to you, if there are two people closer than you are, wait to see if they miss before you shoot."

They all quickly move inside, Kurt putting Finn's old sports duffel on the counter. "Anything we won't need for a few days can go in here. Obviously not food. Use the plastic bags for that."

They all grab bags and head down an aisle. Sam calls out "Ignore the diet restrictions for now, load up on whatever you want. We're heading to a house, so there's plenty of room."

By the time they walk out of the place, they have every junk food known to man, all of the over the counter medicines, a plastic bag of sunglasses, anything Kurt had deemed useful from the car and tool section, nine gas cans in various sizes, and every bottle of water or Gatorade. Kurt had also darted into the storage room and grabbed a tool that he'd explained would make opening underground gas tanks much simpler when the time came.

After loading everything but the drinks into the nav, they use Seb's card to fill the gas cans and top off the tanks of the trucks. When they finish loading the cans and bottles into the truck, they head across the street.

Speedway goes much the same, this time with three zombies, still easily taken care of. To save time they just load up the medicines, another gas tank tool, water, and all the Gatorade and juices. Filling up three additional 5 gallon gas cans, Dave calls out, pointing,

"The grocery store is right down there." Looking at the deserted looking Dollar General across the street, Dave asks, "The dollar store would have been closed, wouldn't it?"

Thinking about it for a second, Puck shrugs. "Yeah, they close pretty early and it was almost dark before anything got bad, right?"

Sam nods. "Okay, why don't you guys head there, get everything you can and load it into the back of the truck, we'll get the grocery store and you guys can just meet us there?"

Before going on, Kurt waits on the road for Dave to pop back out of the dollar store and signal them that it's clear.

When they pull up to the store, it's about the same size as a Save-a-Lot. While getting out, Finn frowns, looking around. "Shouldn't there be zombies out here? We're making a lot of noise."

Kurt shrugs, "They've probably ambled off toward houses by now, they'd have eaten every...thing in town during the night."

Sam turns to Puck. "Think you can help us clear, just in case there's too many? Sarah can just lock the doors and stay here until you get back."

Breathing out slowly, Puck nods. "Sure." Turning to Sarah, he hands her the .22 and rubs his hand over her hair. "I'm going just inside the door, you should be able to see me the whole time. I'll be right back, okay?"

Blinking at him, Sarah nods slowly before slipping down into the floorboard on Finn's side. Kurt hands Puck the key so he can use the fob to lock and unlock it before turning toward the store.

Sam seems a little more worried, which puts everyone else on edge. There's only four of them this time, if there's too many zombies... Deciding to be a little quieter just in case, Sam picks up one of the small shopping baskets by the door and tosses it sideways. Within seconds three zombies come running from aisles close by, two more following close behind. The shots that ring out pull out two more from the back of the store.

Everyone but Finn manages to at least clip one on their first shot. Once they're all down, the last one blown away by a panicking Finn, no more than seven feet away from him, Sam turns to him. "You really are a bad shot, aren't you?"

Finn sighs. "My depth perception seriously sucks. It screws everything up."

Puck just laughs, punching him on the shoulder. "We'll get you some more practice when we're teaching Sarah. Speaking of, I'm heading back to the truck. Get me some beef jerky."

Snorting, Kurt leans out the door to cover him as he heads back to the nav. Once he's safely inside, Kurt turns back around to find Finn and Sam smirking at him. Shifting nervously, he says, "What?"

Shaking his head, Sam grabs a cart, setting his 9mm in the basket seat. "Nothing. Let's load up. This time look for long term foods. Anything easy. And if you find manual can openers, get all but one."

Kurt smiles. _The same man that was giving lectures about being an asshole is still trying to help other possible survivors._

They split up, each taking a cart. They randomly call out things to each other, so they know they're all still okay, but make quick work of the store. Kurt grabs up all the pastries and breads as he can. As he's bagging them at the front of the store, Finn pulls up in the next lane, doing the same.

Kurt glances at him. "Not now, obviously, but sometime down the road we should get to a library and get all their 'for dummies' books. 'How to's on gardening and baking and stuff. I'm going to miss bread."

Sam walks up, also starting to bag. "Good idea. We'll find a place in Kentucky to do that though, so we only have to load and unload that shit once. Books are heavy."

As they're finishing up, they hear three loud shots from just outside the store. Before they can freak out, Seb and Dave step carefully inside. Seeing them, they walk over. Dave says, "Sorry, I know we're not supposed to make noise but I think you guys attracted some attention, we should go." He looks around a bit, before suddenly grinning.

Smacking Seb on the shoulder, Dave nods toward the stacks of coal and lighter fluid stacked by the door. "Awesome! Let's haul that out to the truck." At Kurt's questioning look, Dave explains, "We saw this simple metal camping grill in the yard right by here, so we grabbed it. Figured even if we're on the road or the power goes out, nothing stops a grill from working right?"

Finn grins, "Nice! Grab one of those brush scrubby things if they have one."

Kurt calls out to Seb as he walks away, "I hope you have a lot of pots and pans for soup and shit. I don't think meat is going to be on the menu much longer. Although I did grab all I could find. As long as we have power, we should take advantage of it."

Sam cheers. "That's the best news I've heard all day, I'd kill for a burger."

As they carry everything out, Finn and Dave making extra trips back for more bottled water, the 'guards' open their car doors.

Santana calls out, "Can we make a quick trip through to see if there's anything else we want?"

Sam nods, "Sure, just make it fast. If Sarah goes, take Kurt too, just in case you need an extra shooter."

Whooping loudly, Sarah grabs Kurt's hand and pulls him inside, the skinny teen just laughing as he follows her. Puck follows, Santana and Britt running to get ahead of them, because it's not possible to be too careful.

Less than ten minutes later, they're piled back into the trucks, everyone eating ice cream at Sarah's insistence. Dave took the lead, since Seb needed to direct them. They're also now considerably more weighted down. Sarah had been moved to Puck's lap since they'd needed to lower the back row for flats of water. She'd been told to duck down into the floorboard if Puck needed to shoot.

As they head back toward the interstate, Sam checks his phone. "According to Google Maps we should just stay on this road, it leads to 33. We should probably avoid interstates today. We're not the only ones moving."

While they're telling Santana about the change of plans, Sebastian leans in to tell Sam that the phones are still up and he should call his brother and sister again. A short phone call later, Sam is sighing and slamming his head back on the seat.

"They sound so freaked out. Stevie is keeping it together, but he's worried."

Kurt smiles at him sadly. "They're fine, Sam. At least for now. It's only been one day, we'll get to them. We just have to regroup first. I'm pretty sure most of us are in shock. Especially after Kohn's."

As they travel down the deserted road they never come across more than a random car out of place or a couple of zombies stumbling around a house.

Luckily the roads are very flat and have nothing but the occasional houses and a **lot** of corn surrounding them. Kurt gets a little nervous when they drive through a tiny town called New Hampshire, but there's not much there.

Finn is unlucky enough to look down the wrong side street as they drive past and see a group of about 15 zombies trying to break into a house, and he can only guess there's a family in there. He doesn't mention it to anyone else, though. There's nothing they can do for them. They can't stop or they risk their own family. So he just turns the other way and waits until they're past it.

When they pass a farming store, Sam nods at a group of big trailers that can be hitched to trucks. "We might get some of those, eventually. It's either that or get another truck."

Puck asks, "Why? We fit fine in these. Sure, it's a little cramped with the midget sitting on me, but it works."

Sam turns to him. "Yeah, for now. But eventually we need to gather up more stuff. Long term stuff. This is just to last us for the next few weeks. Until we get to Stevie and Stacey, really. Then we need to load up on enough crap to get us through winter. Not to mention, even like this, where are Stevie and Stacey going to sit?"

Kurt sighs. "Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that. How are we going to keep all these trucks fueled? I really don't want to have to keep stopping at gas stations."

Sam shrugs. "Not sure. We have the hand pumps, if the power goes down. Hopefully we can just stop and use the card to pay at the pump until we get to them. After that, we'll have to figure something else out. But keep the trailers in mind. If we could hitch one up to both trucks, it'd be harder to drive but we'd have room for everyone inside."

Kurt just shifts uncomfortably. _It'll be hard enough to fill up these two tanks without drawing attention, especially if the power fails... If we have to fill up three tanks with hand pumps, it'll take forever. And I can't imagine everyone would be quiet after being stuck inside the whole day. How many zombies would that draw?_

Trying to push away the thoughts, he drives out of New Hampshire, turning south toward the lake.

After a long stretch of nothing but corn, they start to notice more cars parked in the middle of the road. Soon enough they're heading into town, driving past the few zombies that are ambling around. Sarah calls out suddenly, "Ohh! We should get one of those! Aren't they just like houses?"

Sam turns to look. Seeing an RV dealer, he laughs. "Yeah, they're basically a house on wheels. And we might get one, when we get settled, but they're hard to drive, kiddo."

Puck rubs her back. "If I learned nothing else from The Walking Dead, it was always bring extra radiator hoses."

Kurt snorts. "Well, when we get to Kentucky and Sam decides what we're driving for good, we'll need to hit a junkyard so I can pull as many parts as I can for things like that. Maybe hit up an Advanced if we get a chance."

Driving through a town, instead of around it, for the first time is nerve wracking and Kurt grips the steering wheel tightly. He would never admit it out loud, but he's kind of glad they aren't the lead truck at the moment. He's not sure how he'd handle having to make the decisions.

Kurt is still firmly in the 'don't look around too much' mindset, so he doesn't see the pile of bodies off one of the main roads where it looks like a group of people had gathered to fight, and lost. He hears the growls of the zombies though. He speeds up when Sam tells him to, avoiding looking in the rear view mirror.

Since he didn't see how close a few of them had gotten to grabbing the back bumper, he relaxes, thinking his worry was an overreaction. Puck and Finn stare at each other with wide eyes, each gripping their guns a bit tighter.

They manage to get away from Russells Point without any other real problems, and are back on a flat road with nothing but corn for company.

As they're sitting in silence, Kurt jumps when the walkie talkie crackles to life. Santana's voice makes them all groan. Apparently, Kurt wasn't the only one on edge.

"So, not to be a bitch or anything, but is anyone else sick to fucking death of **corn**?"

Kurt takes the handheld from Sam before he can answer. "The first person to say they're bored is getting punched in the face. It's always that person that gets ripped to shreds five minutes later."

Dave must have grabbed theirs out of her hand, because he's the one to answer. "Agreed. You punch anyone in your car, I'll punch mine. Not bored, guys. Ever."

Sam laughs, taking their walkie talkie and putting it back in the cup holder. The silence resumes and Kurt has to wonder what's going on that's keeping the Queen of Quips from one of her famous retorts. He probably doesn't want to know.

As they pass Huntsville, Sam signals the other truck, "Okay, water break. Everyone needs to drink at least half a bottle. Finn and Dave, a whole bottle. You're bigger and will be doing more heavy lifting and stuff."

Kurt narrows his eyes at Sam. "You should drink a whole one too, we're screwed if you collapse."

Laughing, he takes a bottle passed from the back seat by Puck. "Sure, sure."

Puck drinks half of one and passes it to Kurt, who drinks the rest without questioning. _Sarah should probably also be drinking her own, since she has the most growing to do._

* * *

Kurt groans, trying to stretch his neck without taking his eyes off the road. Bellefontaine is only about 50 miles from Lima, so last week it wouldn't have taken more than an hour to get there. Now it was almost noon and they were just getting close.

Despite the world ending and everyone around them turning into monsters, one way or another, Kurt has admit that they've had a fairly uneventful apocalypse so far. He knows that it's only day two, not even 24 hours in, but it gives him hope non-the-less. Maybe, one day, in like 15 years or so, life can be normal again. They just have to take it a day at a time and hope for the best. _And possibly glue Sebastian's lips together._

As they start seeing signs for the exit into Bellefontaine, Sam grabs the walkie again. "So, we get off here, right?"

Sebastian answers, "Only if you want to drive right by the hospital and through most of town. There's another exit that we can come in through the back with."

Sam nods, even though, obviously, Sebastian can't see him. "Awesome. We'll just follow you guys. It'd be nice to hit another gas station, just in case we have to leave your house in a hurry. But only if the power is still on and there's nothing much nearby."

"Yeah, there's a Speedway not too far from my house, we can use that street and double back a little."

Kurt bites back a laugh, hearing the strain in Seb's voice. _I bet it's killing him to let a joke go by about getting off and coming in the back._ Catching Puck's grin in the mirror, Kurt can tell he caught it too.

"What are you smirking about?" Finn pokes his shoulder.

Kurt coughs. "Nothing."

There are considerably more cars abandoned the closer they get to the exit but no zombies. Sam shrugs, gripping his gun again.

"Hopefully they've moved into town. If there's a hospital that's probably where most of them ended up."

Following Dave, they pull off the exit ramp onto Sandusky Avenue. Sam, looking back at the other ramps, winces. "It may be hard getting back out of here. The ramps leading out of town are blocked solid in some spots."

Finn frowns. "Uh... can't we just go back out the ramp we came in on? I don't think we have to worry about being pulled over anymore."

Sam bangs his head on the window. _Yeah, I don't think I'd like to be proved stupid by Finn Hudson either._

Ignoring the quiet chuckles from behind his seat, Kurt glances around nervously. Russells Point was bad enough, but now they were actually turning into town, going down side streets, for the first time since Lima. Kurt isn't sure what he's more afraid of, a horde of zombies showing up or being cornered by live people.

Knowing that they'll attract zombies from possibly all four sides to get gas, Sam pulls out the walkie again. "Okay, we need gas again. Pull up to a pump and we'll take the one next to it. As soon as we swipe the card we'll pass it off, pump as quick as you can. Seb can pump while Santana covers him. Dave and Britt, roll your windows down so you can shoot anyone coming from the other side."

After getting confirmation, Sam turns back to Kurt. "Alright, like I said, just pull up to the pump next to them. Me and Finn will get out, you and Puck cover us. Finn, you're pumping."

Nodding, Finn slips his gun over his back and reaches for the door handle as they pull into the Speedway. As soon as Kurt has the nav stopped, Finn and Sam jump out. They pass the card with little trouble but when the tank is only half full, Puck calls out, "Got some coming in from behind us. Must have pulled them out as we drove by."

Kurt turns to look, only seeing two. "Okay, we'll shoot them if they get too close."

Britt and Dave must have come to the same conclusion, because they train their guns, but wait. Just then, Kurt realizes. "Uh... if they heard our trucks, and followed us, won't they follow us to the house?"

Puck groans. "Shit. Probably."

Kurt reaches for the walkie, passing it back to Sarah, still looking around. "Sarah, sweetie, push that button and hold it up toward me so they can hear me, okay?"

After fumbling for a few seconds, she holds it out to him, his eyes not stopping as they sweep the streets around them. "We have a problem, guys. If the zombies follow the trucks, won't they just follow us to Seb's house? Shooting them will be too loud and will draw even more of them."

The doors are open on both trucks, so everyone hears him, Sam and Sebastian freezing. Sam starts swearing under his breath as he watches another zombie amble toward them from a side street.

Finishing first, Finn hangs up the pump and jumps back in the nav, shutting his door. Sam steps back, ready to get in as soon as Seb finishes.

Once they all hop back in, doors and windows closed, the zombies reach the parking lot. Sam grabs the walkie. "Kill em so they can't draw others all through town. Seb, call Travis and tell him we're almost there and to go out and be ready to open the gate. Not the doors or anything, but the gate."

After they've shot all the zombies they see, they pull away, following the road until Dave's truck is pulled down a small street and immediately turns into a driveway. No sooner have they pulled to a stop than a gate opens in front of them.


	6. Chapter 6

After they pull both trucks inside, Sebastian gets out, holding his gun up to shoot the zombies coming closer from a neighboring house.

Sam gets out, hissing, "No! Don't fire the guns anymore. That'll just pull more of them." As the gates clang shut, the front door opens. Turning to the teenage boy about to step outside, Sam points at him. "No! Shut the door, stupid! Get back inside! You have no idea if we're infected. Wait an hour before you let any of us in."

Nodding, wide eyed, the kid steps back inside and shuts the door. Turning back around, Sam sees that there are four zombies already 'running' at the gate. Throwing his gun over his shoulder, he opens the back of the nav and pulls out the machetes he'd taken from Walmart. Holding them out as everyone steps out of the trucks, he asks,

"Who wants to kill a few zombies as quietly as they can?"

Kurt steps back. There are only six of the giant knives, so hopefully he won't have to be one of them. Finn and Puck are the first to grab them. Shortly followed by Santana and Sebastian. Dave shrugs and takes the last one, seeing neither Brittany or Kurt moving forward.

Kurt steps back, leaning against the nav as they all spread out along the closed gate. He cringes as they start hacking at the heads of the zombies through the wide openings in the mostly decorative defense. After about ten minutes the smell starts to get to him and he steps away to throw up behind a tree. Coming back out, he ignores the group and opens Sarah's door.

She frowns at him. "Are you okay?"

Smiling, he nods, tucking her hair back. "Yeah, sweetie. I'm fine. Just uh... don't watch what they're doing, okay? They're doing something gross to keep us safe."

Nodding thoughtfully, she looks over his shoulder at the house. "Can we go inside instead?"

"In a bit. We have to stay out here for awhile, to prove we haven't been bitten. If those things bite you, you turn into one. And we don't want to hurt or scare the boy inside, do we?"

Sarah nods. "Right. Oh! Here! You can have the rest of my water, to rinse your mouth with."

Before Kurt can admonish her for not drinking it all, she passes it to him. There's only about an inch left. Smiling, he uses it to gargle a few times, spitting off the side of the driveway. When he walks back over, he rubs her back.

"Thanks, kiddo. Thanks for drinking so much of it too, it's important."

Sarah shrugs. "Noah made me. Kept whispering that if I didn't drink it he was going to pour it on me when we got here."

Kurt laughs. "Oh, I see. That's why you gave it to me, to keep from wearing it."

She smiles angelically. "What do you mean? That would be cheating."

Kurt giggles, running his hands back through her hair as he glances over at the group by the fence. Santana got bored and is pressing Brittany against the truck, which Kurt decides not to look at too closely. The rest of the guys are still standing by the gate, having whispered conversations as they wait for the hour to pass and for any stragglers to catch up.

Turning back to the little girl, Kurt pulls a stand of hair down straight. It goes to almost half way down her back. Concerned, he asks, "Do you like your hair long?"

Shrugging she says, "Mom did. She wouldn't let me cut it. It gets really hot though. And it's getting hard to wash."

Kurt bites his lip. "If you could cut it, what length would you want it?"

Beaming up at him, she says, "Amanda cut her hair off to her chin and it was really pretty! It moved around a lot and she put little clips and stuff in it. My hair never moves."

Kurt smiles at her. "So, if it's okay with your brother, do you want me to cut it for you? I can't promise it'll look as good as Amanda's did but I promise it'll move. And be much easier to wash."

Bouncing slightly, Sarah squeals. "Really!? That'd be awesome!"

"What's awesome?"

Looking up, they see Puck has come back over to join them.

Sarah, still bouncing, replies, "Kurt said if it's okay with you, he'll cut my hair like Amanda's!"

Waving his arms slightly, Kurt amends, "I'll try! I need to know what kind of haircut she had first. Did you actually see it, Noah?"

Nodding, Puck shifts his gun, putting the machete carefully down on the hood of the nav. "Yeah, it was a slightly shorter version of the chick in Pulp Fiction."

Relieved, Kurt breaths out heavily. "Oh, thank god. A bob. I can do that." Turning to Sarah, he asks, "Do you want bangs? And how short do you want it?"

Holding her hands up to just above her jaw line. "Uh... I don't know about bangs... I've never thought about it."

Smiling again, Kurt says, "Okay, don't worry, kiddo. We'll figure it out when the time comes."

They've only been there about half an hour when the door opens again. Travis leans back out and calls somewhat quietly, "Okay, from the vids I've seen you'd at least be showing signs by now. Come on in."

Sam frowns but shrugs. He knows they're not infected, he was more staying out to form habits and to kill the zombies. Since they hadn't seen anymore zombies in awhile, he figures it should be safe enough.

Sebastian starts walking quickly for the door, calling over his shoulder, "The garages are around the right side of the house, We'll meet you guys there."

As they all pile back inside to make the short drive, Kurt watches with a small smile as Sebastian all but tackles his brother in a hug.

The house has a strange layout, with two garages at a 90 degree angle from each other, sharing a small paved lot. When they pull up, the door on the left is just starting to lift. Travis comes out to meet them and waves them inside. As there's a Dodge Ram sitting around to the side, Kurt assumes Travis had emptied this garage for them when Sebastian had called.

Pained and relieved groans fill the air as everyone steps out of the trucks, hopefully for good. When Kurt turns to take his first good look at Travis, he huffs quietly. Of course the smaller boy would look just like the criminal chipmunk. The face is almost exactly what Kurt imagines Sebastian looked like a few years ago. The only relief is that he's wearing a huge, honest smile. He's still short compared to the other men around him, maybe 5'6", but that's pretty tall for a boy his age.

His brown hair is longer, almost like an old school Zac Efron, and his eyes are blue... and staring at Kurt. Seeing the teenager watching him, Kurt lifts a hand in a wave before he's distracted by Sarah bouncing up to him and tugging on his hand.

"Can we go in now? Can we?"

Kurt smiles at her. "Sure, sweetie."

Leading her through the door Travis had left open, they find Sebastian wiping his eyes and pointing to the left. "Family room is through there, we can all stretch out and talk or whatever."

Not commenting on the tears, Kurt nods, "Thanks. I'm glad he's alright."

Sarah pulls him further into the house, squealing over how pretty everything is. Even Kurt has to admit, it's a really nice house. Later on he'll find out it's a four bedroom, four and a half bath house with a four car garage and full basement, converted into a game room.

Sitting down, Kurt stretches his arms and legs, popping his neck. Puck walks in with everyone else, carrying his duffel bag full of clothes, along with Kurt's suitcase that has Sarah's stuff in it. Everyone drops their bags near the wall and finds a place to sit.

They all talk quietly, waiting for Sam to get off the phone. He'd taken the time to call his brother again, explaining that they got there safely and that they'd stay for two or three nights before heading out, toward them. Stevie had understood, knowing that at least three of them needed gun training and that they'd need to pack carefully.

When Sam does hang up, he turns to face the room. The huge sectional couch is crammed. Santana and Britt took the chaise; Finn sitting next to them, leaning his head back, with Puck on his other side. Finn's eyes kept trying to close. Sebastian was sitting on the other end with Travis, having a whispered conversation. From the slightly shocked look on the smaller boy's face, Kurt can tell that Sebastian had told him about their dad. Next to them is Dave.

Kurt is sitting wedged between Dave's knee and Puck. Sarah had climbed half into his lap and half into Puck's. Sam gives her a small smile before clapping his hands to draw attention.

"Okay. So we've got a couple nights here, as long as nothing goes wrong, then we head for Kentucky. Same rules as before. If anyone doesn't want to go with me, they of course, don't have to. You can stay here, if that's okay with Sebastian, or head out alone. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care if you borrowed a car. I, and anyone who wants to go with me, will be going to pick up my little brother and sister. After that, I plan to settle somewhere in Kentucky for at least a few years, depending on what happens and where we end up."

Kurt clears his throat, "I think we need to figure out now what we're all doing. I'm sticking with Sam. He hasn't steered us wrong yet. We made it over 50 miles today with very little trouble and a shit ton of supplies. So yeah, Sam is my new best friend."

Puck laughs, "Ditto. We all know Kurt will bully Finn into going, even if he decides he doesn't want to. So, me and Sarah are staying with them." Finn just nods, looking slightly more awake.

Santana and Brittany, who had been whispering to each other, nod too. Santana says, "Yeah, we'll be sticking with trouty mouth. We figured out the hard way that we don't want to be left to our own devices."

Kurt giggles, muttering, "There are worse ways to spend your final moments."

The only ones close enough to hear and understand, Dave and Puck, snort. Sam ignores them, turning to Sebastian.

"What about you? I get the feeling that those two will go along with whatever you want." Sam gestures at Dave and Travis.

Seb sits back, crossing his arms and pretending his eyes aren't puffy from crying. "Without Dave, I'd have died yesterday and I was one of the few that were warned. He was the only one that took it seriously. He wants to stay with you guys, so that's what we'll do."

While everyone eyes him suspiciously, Dave and Travis share a grin. Dave turns to the group, "Don't let him bullshit you. After coming way out here instead of straight down I-75, just to get Trav, he'd take a bullet for any of you."

Elbowing Dave, Sebastian hisses, "Shut up."

Kurt giggles again. "Aww, it's okay, Sebby. We won't tell anyone you're not an asshole. And if we did, no one would believe us."

Scoffing, Sebastian sinks down into the couch, "There's no one left to tell, Hummel."

Kurt goes to retort just to have Puck pinch his side. "Stop it, Sam's going to develop a twitch."

Huffing, Kurt turns back to Sam.

"Thanks, man. Anyway, what I haven't really talked about is what we'll do after we get Stevie and Stacey. My dad had a friend that he grew up with that's a survivalist too. When we lived in Tennessee, Uncle James moved to Kentucky. We went to his house every summer. The year he built the new house, we even lived there in a camper for a few weeks, so dad could help him."

Kurt scrunches up his nose. _Eww. I mean, if I have to live in a camper now, there are worse things, but back when we had choices? No._

Sam continues, "He lives around the middle of the state, in a self sufficient house. Last time we visited he was talking about buying a windmill. He has solar panels and his own water wells. So even if the power grid goes down, his house will still work almost completely normally."

Seeing the looks of excitement, especially with the girls and Kurt -Hot showers!- Sam rushes on, "I don't know what happened to him, obviously. He was dad's friend, so I don't have his number. And once the phones go out, it won't matter. I don't know if he'll be okay taking in such a large group. Even if he won't, I can't imagine he'd begrudge us coming by to use the showers and such occasionally. There's a pond and all sorts of farm land nearby. So if we can stay, awesome. If not, maybe we can find a place close and we can all work the land together at least."

Brittany asks, "If you don't know his number, how will we know how to get there?"

Sam assures, "Oh, no. I've been there enough that I remember how to get there. It's not too far off of I-75 actually, so I'll know it when I see it. We might need to double back to it though, it's between two exits, both of which I'd like to avoid."

Finn raises his hand, which gets snorts and laughs from around the room, before asking, "Okay, so we know where we're going. How are we getting there? There's a bunch of us. And we're gonna need a lot of stuff."

Sam sighs. "There's ten of us, soon there will be twelve. That **is** a lot, especially for two trucks. We were talking earlier about getting some trailers or something to hitch to one or both of the trucks, to free up some room inside. The problem with that is that it makes it much harder to turn around, and it gives the zombies something to cling to that we can't defend easily."

Santana leans forward, breaking Britt's grip on her. "How come no one in zombie movies ever loads up a semi? Can't they just bust through a crowd of zombies and keep right on going?"

Puck turns to her, "Same reason that girl bit it in The Walking Dead. Their RV got stuck. It'd be even worse with a semi. How the hell would you turn around, ever? One wrong turn or dead end and you all bite it."

Sam shrugs, "Well, that was because of the car blockage. An 18 wheeler could probably plow right through that herd of zombies if it was flat road. If you had CB radios you could send one car ahead by like a mile to scout. If they run into something the semi couldn't handle, they call it out so they have time to veer off. Not to mention, with the semi a mile back, if the front car got into something they couldn't handle, there'd be backup."

Santana smirks, "So, why don't we do that? Send the navigator out first, everyone else stays in the semi, load it up as needed. Then we don't have to worry about storage space and shit."

Scoffing, Sebastian leans forward. "Don't we need someone that knows how to drive the damn things first? They require special licenses right? I don't think any of us could drive one for a mile without breaking it down or blowing it up."

Kurt draws himself in, muttering, "It's not **that** hard."

Cheering, Finn points to Kurt. "Right! You had to learn how to do it!" At the confused looks he gets around the room, Finn explains, "Burt gets drivers coming in off 75 and needing work done. Sometimes they'd be in a hurry and their company would send out a new truck, switch the trailer, and go. They'd come back for it in a few days or something."

Sam turns to Kurt, "Really? They taught you how to drive one?"

Kurt shifts. "Um... a little? After Dad got elected, I needed to at least be able to drive the trucks around to the back after I fixed them. They're too big to leave out front. I've never driven one over a mile or two, though."

Cocking an eyebrow, Sam asks, "When did you even drive one that far?"

Kurt huffs, sliding further down in his seat. "A guy that needed a repair was staying at the Econo Lodge by the highway. I drove it out to him so he didn't have to take a cab, Finn followed to take me home. It was really late at night so no one saw me or anything."

Sam looks the most excited that they've seen him in days. He walks off a little, muttering under his breath. Just then they hear Sebastian all but squeak.

"Oh, Jesus Christ. No!" Seeing everyone turning to stare at him, Sebastian flushes slightly before turning back to Travis, quietly hissing, "No. It's not. I have better taste than that."

Travis gapes at him. "What?! Are you freaking kidding me? He's looks like **that** and he can fix **and** drive semi trucks. What the hell else are you looking for?!"

Tilting his head, Sebastian relents, "I didn't know about the fixing cars thing until today. But really, you know I don't go for the girly types."

Travis frowns in confusion. "Girly? He's wearing ass-kicking boots, black skinny jeans, a grey V neck sweater and a leather jacket. Okay, he's pretty, but why girly?"

Kurt is glaring when both brothers look at him with calculating eyes. Seb nods. "Okay, you've made your point. Zombie Apocalypse Kurt is kind of hot. But still, no that's not him. So have at it."

Finally speaking up, Kurt snaps out, "What?!"

Despite Travis waving him off, trying to keep him from telling, Sebastian smirks, "Travie here asked if I had dibs on you, so I've just assured him that I don't. So I guess he's staking a claim. Mozel tov."

Finn snorts loud enough to pull Sam from his muttering. Finn manages, "Uh, sorry dude. He's been claimed for awhile. Nice try though."

Sam laughs, quickly cutting himself off at an angry look from Puck. Clearing his throat, Finn turns to Travis. "Hate to burst your bubble, but... Even if Blaine is out of the picture, there's already a next in line. And he won't have to wait for four years. You're 14, dude."

Kurt glares around the room. Travis is pouting, Dave is blushing, Puck looks pissed off, Sam, Finn, and Santana look amused, and Sebastian and Brittany look as confused as he is. Sarah is trying to rub a scuff off her shoe.

Eventually Kurt snaps, "What the hell are you guys talking about? My stupid boyfriend wouldn't listen to me and got himself eaten yesterday. Whoever you think made a 'claim' should really be more clear, because to my knowledge, the only gay guys here are Seb and Dave and-" He quickly cuts himself off shooting a panicked look at Dave.

The bigger boy glares. "Thanks, Fancy."

Kurt waves his hands. "No! I didn't say it, so you can't get mad at me! That's not how it works!"

Now everyone is confused. Well, at least they're even now.

Sam coughs to draw attention. "Anyway, getting away from gay soap operas... I'm just going to say this once. If you're under the age of 16, no sex. With anyone. And until we get some condoms, no one has sex at all. And uh... when people do... discretion please? We don't need to know who's sleeping with who."

Santana and Brittany ignore his rather pointed looks in their direction.

It's surprisingly Sarah that breaks the silence. "Can I leave?"

Puck groans. "Yes, please." Turning to Seb and Trav, Puck asks, "Where's safe that she can find something to do?"

Travis points down the stairs behind him. "Basement. No way in except those stairs and that's where I was. The windows are double paned and don't open. It's a game room with a full bath."

Kurt nods. "Ohh! Good idea, you should take a bath, sweetie. Your clothes are in my bag back there." While Sarah grabs her stuff, Sam runs down the stairs to do a quick sweep of the basement, just to be sure. He passes her on the stairs coming back up.

As he reenters the room, he hears Travis answering a question from Finn.

"I'm bi, actually. But since the only girls seem to be together, I'm more than happy enough to wait on the pretty guy." Travis winks.

Before Kurt can do more than scoff, Sam cuts in. "Okay, great. Anyway... I need to sit down with Sebastian and find out what all you guys have. Usually I'd just search the house myself but... that would take awhile. Finn, Travis, Sarah, and anyone else that has never had one, need a gun safety lesson. I told my brother it'd be about two days before we left. If the power holds, we'll leave on the third day."

Kurt, trying to distract himself from the freaking **child** trying to get his attention, asks, "What do we do in the meantime?"

Shrugging, Sam responds with, "Anything really. Tonight, stick to internet stuff. If there's something you think you'll want to know how to do, this is probably your last chance to look it up online. I can't imagine it'll last too much longer. I'm actually pretty surprised it's still up. If you can't think of anything, let me know, and I'll give ya something to do."

Travis finally gives up trying to flirt with Kurt and turns to Sam. "Oh! By the way, there's all sorts of zombie vids up on YouTube. This one guy, I think he was in the army or something, he decided that he would use his uh... knowledge of killing things to experiment with the zombies and made videos about it."

Dave turns to him, looking a little green. " **What?** "

Shrugging, Travis says, "Yeah... they're not fun to watch, so maybe blondie should just watch them and fill everyone else in. But they go into what actually kills or slows the things compared to what doesn't work at all. Things like that."

Brittany whispers, "So... he went out and caught some and used them to test? That's horrible."

Sam nods. "It is... but it's also really helpful. He probably saved a lot of lives by doing that, Britt." Turning to Trav, he sucks in a breath. "Yeah, I'll watch those. Anyone can too, if you want, but you don't have to. I'll tell you about it when we've got some downtime. Anything else before we all split up?"

Travis, bouncing, calls out, "Sleeping arrangements! Ku-"

Seb, clapping a hand over his little brother's mouth, finishes, "We have four bedrooms. Two upstairs and two down. The master and guest are on each side of the kitchen and our bedrooms are upstairs with another game room. That one is really just the video game room. Downstairs is more 'family' stuff."

Sam nods, amused at Travis's struggling. "Okay, since we have motion sensors, as long as the power holds out, we'll use the bedrooms. We'll still have to keep people on watch at all times. So, Dave and Sebastian, since you had last night off, you're on first watch. You should probably take a nap sometime today if you didn't sleep well. If the power goes out we'll relocate to the basement to sleep all together like we did last night."

Before anyone else says anything, Santana pipes up with, "Is it okay if we take the master bedroom?" She eyes Sebastian and Travis, for once trying not to offend anyone.

Seb shrugs, "Sure. Honestly, he'd probably have been excited that lesbians were sleeping there."

Travis blurts out, "I know **I** am." and gets cuffed on the back of the head by Dave, who reaches behind Sebastian to do it.

Ignoring them, Seb continues, "Trav's room has a twin-over-full bunk bed, my room has a queen size bed, the guest and master have king sized."

Sam laughs, keeping an eye on Travis, who's pouting. "Uh, how bout Finn and I share the bottom bunk and Trav there can take top? Just to avoid bloodshed."

Finn agrees with a chuckle. Puck scratches the back of his head. "I guess I could take the guest room with Sarah."

Sebastian smirks. "Great! Kurt and Dave can sleep in my room. To protect the straight guys' honor."

Glaring, Kurt responds, "No way in hell, meerkat."

Turning to him, Seb grins, "Come on, Kurt! We could be the last three gay men left alive!"

Kurt huffs, sinking back down into the couch and muttering, "Dibs on Dave."

Puck glares at Sebastian before turning to Kurt. "You can just stay with me and Sarah if you want. He said it's a king size bed."

Relieved, Kurt relaxes into Puck's side. "Sold."

Sebastian turns with a leer at Dave. "Guess it's just me and you, bear cub."

Dave draws himself in. "Um... great."

Kurt giggles, pressing his face into Puck's side so he doesn't draw attention. When the Jewish boy cocks an eyebrow at him, Kurt just shakes his head.

Sam huffs. "Just remember guys, no sex until we get condoms. And uh... other things. Jesus."

Santana gets up off the chaise, pulling Brittany up behind her. "Okay, what should we go do, and where should we go do it?"

Sam frowns. "Well, if they have a color printer with a lot of ink, you can look up a guide to edible plants and print it off. Especially for the mid Kentucky region. Maybe look up 'how to's on running a farm, taking care of cows and stuff."

Seb points back off behind the stairs. "Dad's office is back there. Should be plenty of ink."

After they walk out, Finn snorts. "Ten bucks says they don't do a damn thing besides make out."

Sam just laughs. "Don't really blame them. Anyway, everyone else, find something useful to do! Seb, I need to borrow a laptop or something, and preferably a printer, although it'll just be a couple pages. I need to map out what roads we're taking and where to stop, etc."

As Seb and Sam talk, Kurt gets up, stretching again. He turns to Puck. "I still want to cut Sarah's hair, either tonight or tomorrow, but I've thought of like five things I want to look up online already."

Nodding, Puck answers, "No problem. Whenever. I'm probably going to be helping pack up the house when Sam gets done with the route."

Smiling at him, Kurt says, "Thanks for saving me from the pervert brothers."

Flushing slightly, Puck responds, "Sure... no biggie. Sarah is comfortable around you, so whatever."

After leaning down to kiss his cheek, Kurt quickly walks away, grabbing his messenger bag from the bags Finn and Dave had started to pile up against the wall. Refusing to turn around and see the bigger boy's reaction, Kurt takes his laptop down to the basement to look up how to stitch your own wounds.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few hours are filled with a lot of thumps and bangs from around the house as the boys pack anything useful into the dining room. It starts raining around midday, but no one really notices. Kurt stays in the basement, usually with Sarah, as he looks up everything from suturing with fishing line to how to hitch and unhitch tractor trailers. He looks at a few of the zombie tip videos, but only the ones that don't show examples. He'll leave those to Sam, thanks.

He also looks up some quick tricks on cutting hair. If he screws it up too bad, it won't really matter, because the world ended, but still, he doesn't want to make her sad. He saves some in depth guides to various things, hoping that he'll be able to learn more when he has time. He also writes down the steps to checking over a tractor trailer and what to look for when they go 'shopping' later.

Eventually he realizes just how late in the day it must be and decides to see what everyone else is up to. Standing up and stretching, he notices that Sarah hadn't come back after going to 'ask a question' a bit ago. Heading up the stairs he stares wide eyed at the changes in the room already.

The sectional area had been left alone but that was about it. The bags were gone, probably relegated to their rooms. The kitchen, visible over the breakfast bar, has been stripped of most of it's food, cabinets left open. When he walks over, he opens the fridge to find it mostly full of the meat he'd stolen and some dairy products. The freezer has two liter bottles of water that are in the process of freezing, along with some stacked cake pans that are full of shallow water, already frozen.

When Kurt walks into the dining room, he finds the missing food from the cabinets, packed into almost full giant plastic tubs. Nearby is seemingly every blanket, jacket, and pair of boots in the house shoved into a giant tote.

Sebastian comes in behind him and sets down what looks like two camping tents and some sleeping bags. Kurt turns to him.

"Um, I don't suppose you have any of those vacuum sealed storage bags do you? To save room on some of the blankets and clothes?"

Sebastian shrugs. "If we did, dad didn't use em. I suppose one of the companies he hired to organize the house might have bought some. You can check the attic if you want."

Excited, Kurt asks, "Where's the stairs or whatever?"

After being directed up to the video game room where there's a giant pull down ladder in the center of the room, Kurt makes his way up into the attic. He's mentally patting himself on the back as he pulls out more plastic tubs and eventually finds some of the space saver bags. Granted he only finds four, but it's better than none.

He's emptying wrapping paper and bows from a plastic tub when Dave pops his head up.

"Hey! There you are."

Turning, Kurt grins. "Yep! I'm clearing out these bins so we can use them. I don't think Sebastian is going to care if his wrapping paper gets messed up."

Snorting, Dave comes up to help. "No, somehow I don't think he's worried about it."

Kurt looks up at Dave as the bigger boy starts piling stuff by the ladder to take down. "So... how are you handling this whole thing?"

Shrugging, Dave says, "Well, my dad was at work and wouldn't answer the phone. So like most of the country... maybe the world, he's dead. Luckily I didn't have any other family to worry about. I'm just glad Seb and Trav are okay."

Kurt smirks. "Oh, I bet." At the light glare he's given, Kurt giggles. "Really, David? Even after all this, you can't just tell him? I really don't think he's going to mind. Hell, from his behavior today, he'd be open to it."

Dave grunts, putting down the box of buckets and extension cords. "Awesome. Just what everybody wants. To be with the guy they love because he's the only option."

Turning to him, Kurt frowns. "You're looking at this the wrong way. What if he likes you back? He didn't believe all this crap yesterday but he still went around with you and spent all that money, even thinking it was stupid. He's followed you the whole way. Maybe it's not as hopeless as you think it is."

Dave huffs, now stacking the empty bins. "He keeps making jokes about threesomes and shit, Kurt. Even though the world ended and everyone died off, he's **still** trying to find ways to sleep around. He doesn't want the same things I want."

Getting up, Kurt dusts his hands on his jeans. "Maybe, maybe not. It's Sebastian. He makes stupid jokes, offends someone, smirks, and then pretends it never happened. It's what he does. Doesn't mean he can't fall in love, Dave."

Kurt ignores the muttering and says, "Okay. You step down, since you're taller, and I'll pass you stuff. You can just pile it down there and then we'll pack it down."

As they each walk into the dining room with their first load, Sam and Finn glance up at them. When Sam sees them, he whoops. "Hell yeah! Where'd you find the tubs? Seb said there weren't anymore."

Grinning, Kurt pulls out the space bags. "He probably doesn't spend much time in his attic. I was looking for these. Where's the vacuum?"

Finn points them toward the utility room off the garages. When Dave volunteers to go get it, Kurt takes the opportunity to turn to Finn.

"By the way, as much as I appreciate your help with mini-Seb, Dave definitely doesn't have dibs on me, so don't spread that around. He moved on from that crush a long time ago. In fact the whole gorilla suit thing was more denial than anything. His new crush was a bit of an asshole, so he was trying to flame up an old one. Given who the new one was, I don't blame him." Giggling a little, Kurt doesn't see Finn open his mouth or Sam step unsubtly on his foot. By the time he looks up, Sam says,

"Okay. Sorry Kurt, we'll stay out of it. Good luck with the munchkin."

* * *

That night, Kurt changes into a pair of pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt. Sam had told them they could dress however they wanted as long as the power stayed on and they had other shit ready to go asap. As Kurt flips the blankets back on the bed, he glances up at Puck walking through the door, Sarah following him.

She beams at him. "You're gonna cut my hair tomorrow right? I hate washing it."

Laughing, he replies, "Sure, sweetie. As soon as we get the all clear from Sam to do whatever." Looking back at Puck, dressed in just a pair of basketball shorts, Kurt blushes slightly. "Um... we have last watch again. I've set my phone alarm to go off, just in case. We're relieving Finn and Sam this time."

Puck just nods before picking up Sarah and throwing her in the middle of the bed. "Go to bed, squirt." Smirking, Puck pulls the blankets back and says, "You too, Sarah."

After taking the time to beat Puck with his pillow a few times, Kurt lays down, switching off the lamp. There's enough light from various electronics that they can see basic outlines but Kurt has no problem falling asleep. He's woken up after only an hour or two by Sarah shifting uncomfortably behind him.

When he hears her hiss out, "Noah! Trade places with me! It's too hot under here." Kurt starts to panic. The bed shifts as Sarah climbs over Puck, pushing him back toward the middle. Kurt all but stops breathing, as he waits for them to stop moving. When they finally settle, Kurt let's out a slow, quiet breath. He can feel Puck's body heat radiating toward him even though they aren't actually touching.

Puck's breaths even back out almost immediately, clearly unbothered. Sarah takes a few more minutes. Kurt stares wide eyed at the wall for almost 20 minutes before finally calming down enough to close his eyes again. If he slides backward a little to steal some of that warmth, well, he's a reptile remember? It's normal for him.

* * *

The next time Kurt wakes up, he groans internally. The alarm isn't set to go off for another seven minutes. Since that's not enough time to be worth trying to go back to sleep, Kurt moves to sit up as quietly as he can. Except he can't... because there's an arm wrapped around his waist.

A big, tanned arm, attached to a half naked Noah Puckerman.

Puck's arm is not only draped over his hips, but he's scooted close enough that his hand is spread out on Kurt's lower abdomen, only half covered by his shirt. _Shit! How the hell did this happen? This isn't my fault!_

He quickly realizes that if he doesn't find a way to move Puck's hand or get himself away from the situation, a fairly serious problem is going to come up. Trying not to giggle at that thought, and not thinking clearly yet, Kurt pushes his body away from the hand holding him, hoping to give himself a few more inches between Puck's hand and his crotch.

What Kurt doesn't realize until too late, is that if he's pushing away from Puck's hand... he's pushing toward his body. And it's morning.

As Kurt feels Puck's erection press against his ass he sucks in a breath. _Oh dear fucking god._ _ **Not better.**_ _Jesus fucking Christ... Noah's... fuuuck._

Clinching his eyes against the mental images he inadvertently gave himself, Kurt starts trying to figure out what to do. He can't scoot forward, because that's **definitely** a problem now. He can't move back... _Well, actually... no!_ Kurt shakes his head slightly, trying to forget that idea. _Great. 30 seconds of having Noah's dick touching me and all my morals go out the window. Jesus fucking Christ._

Mentally arm flailing, Kurt tries not to move. He tries to convince himself that if he goes into his happy place for a few minutes, his hard on will go away and the alarm will go off, waking up Puck, and he can escape the awkwardness. It almost works, until his mind pops up with _What place is happier than in bed pressed against Noah's cock?_

When Kurt hears a quiet groan, he panics. _I didn't actually groan out loud, did I?!_

Realizing that the groan **wasn't** his doesn't really help with his panic. Neither does the aborted thrust against his ass from Puck. _Oh god oh god oh god. This can't be happening. I am_ _ **not**_ _being molested by a sleeping Noah Puckerman._

Just as that thought finishes, Puck's hand starts sliding over his stomach. Kurt knows he should wake him up or stop him... He just can't seem to force his mouth to move. As Puck's finger grazes against the waistband of his pajama pants, the alarm goes off on his cellphone.

Puck jolts out of sleep behind him. When his hand pulls away, Kurt pretends to stretch, like he's waking up. He quickly darts forward to grab the phone. Turning it off, Kurt gets out of bed and grabs his clothes. Not stopping, he turns to look over his shoulder, heading out the door.

"Have to pee, I'll be out in the living room afterward."

When he steps out of the bathroom, Puck is waiting to get in, already dressed. Flopping down on the sectional, Kurt yawns and waves at Sam and Finn. "Noah's up too, you guys can go to bed."

By the time Puck comes out, Kurt has pulled out the notepad from the night before. As he finishes making the dots, Kurt turns to look at the TV, filled with various camera angles from outside. There's not much to see aside from the rain finally stopping. As the taller boy sits next to him, he holds out half a bottle of water to Kurt, having stopped in the kitchen to grab one.

Kurt passes him the paper as he drinks. "Your turn to go first." When all Puck does is shrug and make a line on the paper, Kurt sighs in relief.

_Well, at least no one knows I'm an unscrupulous pervert but me. Oh, the things you learn about yourself during the apocalypse._

* * *

Within an hour, Kurt relaxes completely. Puck isn't acting awkward, so he must not have woken up all the way until Kurt had left the room. As long as Puck doesn't know it happened, Kurt can just move on, promising himself not to let himself get in that position again. _Situation! Not get in that_ _ **situation**_ _again. Jesus Christ._

When the sun comes up, Puck and Kurt spend half an hour watching the monitors, talking quietly to each other. When Kurt tells Puck he plans to spend a few hours fixing some of his old clothes to fit Sarah better, Puck smiles at him.

"Thanks for helping out with her so much, dude. She really likes you, so having you be there to fuss over her has made this whole thing much easier on us."

Kurt chews his lip before asking. "So, um... do you know what happened with your mom?"

Sighing heavily, Puck watches one slow zombie amble by a monitor, not even glancing at the house as it passes. "Nope. Well, we all know, right? If they didn't answer their phones... and I left a note at home saying that we went to your house, in case we weren't back when she got off work. She never showed up there."

Kurt nods. He'd figured as much. None of the group had said anything about going after their parents. He's guessing they'd all tried to call them while he and Sam were at Walmart, but no one had gotten through. Turning to Puck sadly he says,

"Well shit. I think I'm the oldest living person I know."

Puck laughs. "That shouldn't be funny, but it really is."

Kurt shrugs. He'd never minded being one of the oldest kids in his class. His dad had kept him back because he was so small for his age, he was afraid he'd get picked on. Sure, in high school he'd gotten bored with his easy classes, but he'd been able to drive almost a full school year before everyone else.

At 7am they stretch a bit and then split up to go wake everyone up. Never knowing when the power would fail, they needed to get as much done as they could.

* * *

After Kurt and Dave make breakfast, consisting of everything from eggs and bacon to biscuits and gravy -with Sam pushing milk at everyone like a telemarketer- Kurt finally relents to Sarah's bouncing and goes to grab the hair cutting kit he'd gotten at Walmart.

Figuring it'd be easiest to cut in the bathroom most people forget about, Kurt takes her to the basement and sits her on a kitchen stool he'd brought down. Covering her with a garbage bag and pinning it behind her, Kurt breaths out slowly.

"Okay, if this doesn't look like you wanted, I'm very sorry. This is my first time cutting hair."

Half an hour later, Kurt runs his fingers through the drastically reduced hair. After searching carefully for dips or pieces he'd missed, he turns her to face the mirror. Her squeal is loud enough to make Kurt blink in pain.

"So, you like it then?"

She's already babbling incessantly when Puck runs down the stairs, gun in hand. "What?! What happened?"

Kurt, realizing his mistake, quickly assures, "No! She's fine! She just really likes her hair. Sorry, she's ten."

Puck huffs, leaning up the stairs and yelling, "She's fine! Just a 'little girl' thing." Turning back to face them, he steps closer to touch her hair. "Not bad! It looks good short, Squirt."

Sarah bounces again. "I like it! Can I get some clips next time we go to a big store?"

Kurt smiles at her, pulling a few out of his pocket. "Actually, I got some before. They're not super cute or anything but you can at least use them to pin it back out of your eyes. Speaking of, did you ever decide if you want bangs or not?"

Sarah shifts before turning to Puck. "Should I have bangs? I don't think I've ever had any."

Shrugging, Puck turns to Kurt. "Whatever you think, dude. You know way more about what looks good than I do. Just make sure it's easy to handle and won't get in her way."

Nodding, Kurt walks back in front of her. Tilting his head slightly he decides, "For now, let's just leave it like this. If you decide later that it gets in your eyes too easy, we can cut it again."

Taking the part of the hair he'd have cut and combing it out, Kurt twists it back over her head and pins it at the top. Squealing again, much quieter, Sarah bounces up to turn her head from side to side in the mirror. Kurt smiles at her before looking back at Puck.

The taller boy was already smiling at him. Before Kurt can ask if he had something on his face, Sarah hugs him hard before moving on to Puck. "Noah! Can I go ask Seb to borrow a tablet? I want to look up what all hairstyles I can do now!"

Puck laughs. "Sure, Squirt. Let's go."

After they go back up the stairs, Kurt takes a minute to clear up the bathroom and carefully clean the scissors. Packing everything back in, he sighs quietly, going to put the kit back up.

* * *

The rest of the day passes pretty quickly. Kurt sets up his sewing machine on the dining room table and starts working on his old clothes, trying to make them into clothes Sarah can wear now that she won't outgrow too quickly.

He's been at it long enough to have a minor neck cramp by the time Sam comes in and sits in one of the extra chairs.

Glancing at the blonde, Kurt mumbles around pins, "What's up?"

"Well, I made a small change to the route we're taking after we pick up Stevie and Stacey. I just wanted to check with you before I printed it out." Kurt raises an eyebrow but doesn't stop working on the shirt he's fixing. "There aren't any good truck stops near our house. And the house itself isn't really big enough to fit 12 people inside it."

Kurt snorts. "Not many are. This place is amazing. Don't tell Sebastian I said that."

Sam grins. "Secret's safe with me. Anyway, I was just making sure you're really okay with driving a semi before I firm up the plans for finding one."

Kurt stops working and sits back, watching him carefully. Eventually he admits, "The idea sounds kind of fun, actually. I mean, I like working on them. Weird as it sounds, I really liked driving it too. I don't get to feel big and manly often, so it was great. I'm a little worried that I'm not actually going to be able to do it though. I don't want to pack one up, get out on the road, and then find out I can't handle it."

Thinking it over, Sam says, "Okay, so there's this place just outside of town, right off I-75, and it's got two or three truck stops and stuff where tractor trailers will be all over. There's also campers and RVs. We could stop there for a day or two. We could pick a couple campers and stay in them, and you could take your pick of trucks. After you pick the one you like, you can drive it around a bit down there, make sure you can handle it. If you think you can, we load up and go. If not, we make a new plan."

Chewing his lip for a few seconds, Kurt nods. "That sounds great. The campers not so much... how will we be able to keep watch on everyone if we aren't all together?"

Sam shrugs. "I figured we'd take two and pull them together. Some campers have two outer facing doors; we put two of the doors facing each other and the last door facing out. There'd only be one way in or out. If shit goes downhill, everyone piles in, shuts the door and drives off. We could come back later for our shit. Somehow I don't think zombies need our supplies."

Kurt nods. "Okay. Sounds good to me. What will the scout car be?"

Snorting, Sam answers, "The nav, definitely. Not only can it hold seven people comfortably, but the keyless entry alone is worth it. Makes it a great place to hole up for a few minutes until help can come. Anyone that we give the code to can get in."

Kurt bangs his head on the table. "Shit. I'm so sorry, I should have already told everyone. It's 17882, spread the word?"

Sam grins. "No problem. We haven't really needed it yet, so no biggie. I'll announce it at dinner, I need to talk to everyone anyway. We got a lot done today, most of the house has been packed in here, things that we'll need anyway. Even with that big roof shell that Seb had, we'll probably have trouble fitting everything. Thank god for Dave's truck. As is, Sarah will have to sit in Puck's lap or something."

Stopping again, Kurt turns to him, "Actually, she could probably wedge into Dave's cab. It's two bench seats, where as mine have those stupid consoles. He should be able to fit her between him and Sebastian, if Puck will go for it."

Smirking Sam says, "Oh, I think I can convince him." Not explaining, Sam gets up and pushes the chair in. "Well, I'm going to go print off our maps and directions then. I hope you're almost finished here, dinner will be in about an hour. Finn and Puck are making burgers."

Later, as everyone sits around the living room either on the sectional or on the floor, Sam shoves his last bite of burger into his mouth and stands up.

"Okay, before we all split up to finish what we were doing, I should fill you guys in." Sitting on the arm of the sectional, he continues, "I talked to Kurt, and we're going to try the semi thing. He also said to tell everyone that the code to the doors on the nav is 17882. Try to memorize it, it could save your life. Of course climbing into a truck, even that one, isn't a long term plan, but it beats climbing under it like the dumbasses on the Walking Dead."

After a few chuckles and a minute of people mumbling the numbers under their breath, Sam says, "So, since we're taking a tractor trailer... we need a tractor trailer. I don't want to get one until we hit Kentucky just in case we need to pull some driving tricks to get around Cincinnati, especially over the river."

Remembering the route he'd planned for most of the day, he says, "We'll stop for the night about 20 miles outside of Cinci. I want to try to get through there early, hopefully not long after dawn. We'll stop again, for at least a night, after picking up my brother and sister. Kurt can pick out our truck and he can drive it around, make sure it's in good shape, then we'll continue past Lexington and stop just after crossing the Kentucky River."

Waiting for a few seconds and seeing no questions, Sam points out, "We'll be sleeping in the truck, all of us. We'll throw some mattresses in the back and that way if shit goes down during the night, Kurt can just drive away. Between shift changes we can open the doors for a few minutes to let air circulate. Even with seven or eight of us in there, we wouldn't be able to use up the air in a couple hours."

Sam finishes with, "After that we head south a few miles til we get to Richmond. That day will probably be the worst of our lives." At their questioning faces, he winces. "I want to go to a shopping center."


	8. Chapter 8

 

At the sudden blast of voices, Sam starts flapping his hands trying to get people to calm down. "Look! There's shit we need! At that point it'll be about a week into the end of the world. Most people are dead by then. The few that aren't will have just started thinking long term. If anyone actually takes the risk of going somewhere that populated during the apocalypse, there's only two possible outcomes. Either they don't have enough people, are stupid, or just unlucky, and they die bloody. Or they plan it out, are careful, take lots of firepower, and they clean the fuck up. I'd really like to be the second group before anyone else gets their shit together."

Finn eventually speaks up, "Yeah, but how do we make sure we aren't part of that first group?"

Sam shrugs. "We're already half way there. We have way more guns than most people. We have 18 guns and will have 12 people. I'm not real happy about the idea of taking the kids in with us though. So we'll probably leave them in the cab and have 9 people and 17 guns."

Nodding, Puck says, "Okay, when you think about nine people, most with two guns, it seems doable. As long as we went slow, store by store."

"Exactly. It's not like a mall, where everything is connected. Some of the stores are, but mostly it's just a lot of stores in about a quarter mile block. I'd like to spend a few hours liberating most of their shit." Sam grins.

Sighing, Kurt says, "Tell me there's a store where I can stock up on fabric and shit and I'm in."

Sam laughs. "There's a fucking Michaels. There's also a JCPenny, a Belk, a Radioshack, a kid's clothing store, like seven restaurants, gas stations... and above all, a fucking Meijers. All within like half a mile. Not to mention there's a subdivision like across the road. We could go through those houses if we wanted. If everything here got hit late on Monday then everything there went toes up sometime late Sunday or really early Monday. Either way, I doubt many people were out clothes shopping."

Santana scoffs, "How far away is the nearest hospital? Because first thing Monday everyone runs for a doctor's note."

"Actually it's miles away. There is a doctor's office, but it's fairly small according to Google." When he notices that everyone seems to accept his plan, for now at least, he moves on. "Also, someone finally managed to post a video out of New York this morning. I know most of you have moved on from the internet to more hands on stuff, so I'm guessing most of you haven't seen it. We know how it started now."

Everyone sits up a little straighter, listening intently. Sam sighs. "The video was posted by a group of survivors in New York City. Apparently there was a food cart or a restaurant or something that got contaminated. They aren't real clear on the details, but it started there. The first wave of infection took about a day to mutate or whatever. So the whole thing started about a mile from JFK, and no one knew what was going on until the infection had gone global."

Some people look stunned, like they'd hoped that it was at least contained within the United States. "There might be some countries that didn't get infected, but for now, everyone is assuming that most, if not all, of the world is facing the same thing. Some just quicker than others."

Santana huffs. "Should have known that New York would be the city that ended the world."

Kurt glares at her. "I'm pretty sure no one saw **this** coming."

Sam scratches the back of his head, focusing on Finn. "According to the group, most of New York is gone. Between the initial infection starting there, the close quarters, and the sheer amounts of people... they haven't seen anyone but their own group alive since the first day. And they were on top of the empire state building, so they could use the scope things."

When he gets no reaction from Finn, Sam moves on, addressing the rest of the group again. "Anyway, we need to push for last minute prep. We'll stay tonight but I'm not sure how many more days we can wait. As long as the power is on, it makes sense, but once it goes down, this house isn't really more defensible than any other."

Brittany stands up and starts passing out bracelets she'd made out of paracord, already wearing a choker she'd made for herself. Apparently Sebastian's dad had a huge spool of it that they were also taking, but Brittany and Santana had decided to make these as a just in case. She also tells them that she's working on Altoids survival tins but that she needs to add a few more things before they're done. Sam tells her that he'll work with her when they're done talking to find the rest of it.

As they all break up to go their separate ways, Kurt shifts uncomfortably. It was already starting to get dark, which meant sleeping. It was his and Puck's night off duty so he was excited to get to sleep the whole night... but after last night he's worried about his already shaky morals taking another hit. Sam asks him to go put all the meat in the freezer, except what they'd need for tomorrow's dinner.

Once he's done, Kurt goes back to the dining room and repacks all of his sewing equipment along with the now altered clothes. As he's finishing up, the rest of the guys come in.

When he catches his eye, Finn shrugs at him. "We're apparently going to pack as much of this as we can tonight. He wants to be ready to go as soon as we can in case something happens."

Kurt just nods, going to find Sam. "Am I needed for this? I was actually considering going to bed early."

Sam claps him on the shoulder. "No problem dude. Britt is finishing the tins and Santana is looking up which snakes in Kentucky are poisonous, and then they're going to bed too. Sarah and Travis are packing up all the laptops and tablets, stuff like that. Once we get the truck packed as well as we can, we'll probably all go lay down. I'll tell Puck to keep it down when he heads in."

Blushing brightly, Kurt nods and turns to leave. After he changes and puts tomorrow's clothes out, he repacks his bag one last time, making sure everything fits and that he'd be able to put away his pjs easily. As he lays down, he can't stop himself from playing with his new bracelet. It's going to be hard to get used to wearing it all the time. Finally he settles down, trying his best to fall asleep before Sarah or Puck can come in.

The next thing he's aware of is Puck hissing at Sarah to be more quiet as they slide into bed. No one comes close enough for Kurt to tell in his drowsy state which of them he's next to, and before he can work himself up about it again, he falls back asleep.

* * *

 

As Kurt is slowly pulled out of sleep, he has to stop himself from groaning. _Well, that answers the question of who I'm sleeping next to._

Clinching his eyes shut, Kurt does his best not to move as he feels Puck's once again hard dick fitted snugly against his ass. He tries to tell himself that he should get up. He can see the clock, it's almost 5:30. At least a few people are already awake. He's still trying to talk himself into leaving the nice, warm bed with the sexy guy pressed to his back when he feels a movement from behind him.

Trying not to groan in frustration -because apparently Puck is so unused to sharing beds with people he's not fucking that he freely rubs against them in his sleep- Kurt almost gives himself away with a gasp when a hand comes down to rest on his waist. That alone could be a coincidence... except for the part where the thumb is rubbing a barely felt circle into his side.

The hips behind him readjust slightly so that the hard cock is sliding along the crease between his cheeks... Kurt suddenly wonders just how much of last night was actually his fault... because **this** really doesn't seem all that unintentional.

Still caught up in the 'what the fuck?!'ness of it all, Kurt isn't prepared, at all, for the quiet moan muffled slightly by a pillow or the slightly faster grinding of the dick against him. Biting his lip to keep his own groan from getting out, Kurt leans slightly forward, trying not to let on that he's awake while still pushing his ass back against Puck a little more.

Another quiet groan from behind him makes Kurt turn his face into the pillow, smothering his tiny whimpers as Puck continues to thrust against him. The hand gripping his hip tightens and Puck's cock bucks against him again a little harder. A few long thrusts later, Puck pulls away just barely enough to slide his hand off Kurt's hip and down his own shorts. As Puck moves his hand over himself, his knuckles brush lightly against the crease of Kurt's ass. Suddenly Kurt is assaulted with mental images of Puck's cock sliding against him with nothing between them, making him groan quietly.

When Puck gasps slightly and stills, Kurt panics. _Shit! Did he hear me? Could he tell I was awake? … Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?_

Before he can think about it too much, he feels Puck shuddering against him slightly. Quickly figuring out what happened, Kurt slams his eyes back closed and tries to even his breathing out. He really can't get caught awake **now**.

Inside though, he's bouncing and arm flailing, wondering what the hell just happened. Trying his best to calm down and 'sleep', Kurt waits tensely as Puck comes down from the high. After a long minute, he pulls away slowly. As soon as the door clicks behind Puck when he leaves, Kurt turns to look over his shoulder.

Sarah is mysteriously missing, _thank Christ_ , and must have woken up earlier. Hearing the shower turn on through the wall this room shares with the bathroom, Kurt let's out a relieved sigh before reaching into his pants.

As he wraps his hand around his own cock he's unsurprised to find himself rock hard. Refusing to think too much about why he shouldn't be doing this, Kurt glances at the door warily as he starts to stroke himself. Knowing it won't take long, Kurt closes his eyes, remembering the way Puck had pushed against him, the heat of his cock on his ass. Turning his head, Kurt can still barely smell the scent of him on the pillow.

He jolts a little when he hears a dull thud from the bathroom, Puck knocking over a bottle of shampoo or something in the shower. The mental image of the tall, tanned boy naked with nothing but a thin wall separating them pushed Kurt to move his hand faster, twisting sharply at the top before running his hand back down. Picturing Puck in the shower, scrubbing his own come off his abs, Kurt wonders if the other boy had known that Kurt was awake.

Puck's fingers touching so close to his entrance and imagining what it would be like to feel skin to skin contact had caused him to groan... had Puck heard him? The thought of Puck knowing that Kurt was awake -and getting off on it- pushes him over the edge. Biting his lips to muffle any sounds that come out, Kurt tenses, waiting on the slight shivers to pass. Just as he's pulling his hand out of his now soiled pajama pants, the water cuts off in the bathroom. Giggling slightly, Kurt swings his legs off the bed, getting up to clean himself off.

 _The question remains... what the hell was_ _**Puck** _ _doing? Especially if he_ _**didn't** _ _know I was awake... For some reason, I think there's an awkward conversation in our future._

* * *

A few hours later, Kurt is in the basement blow drying his hair after his shower when the power cuts off. He groans slightly but realizes it could've gone out at a much worse time. Like ten minutes ago, when he'd had shampoo in his eyes. Since he'd grabbed his newly finished survival tin first thing after breakfast, he takes it out and slides the tiny LED flashlight out of the rubber bands wrapped around it. Patting his hair down as much as he can, Kurt gets up and carefully picks his way up the stairs.

The living room gets enough sunlight that he shuts off his flashlight and sits on the couch, waiting for everyone else to stumble in. The room is already filled with a few muttering people and when they notice Kurt on the sectional, they all gravitate over there. Within minutes, Sam is standing in front of them doing a head count.

"Okay, that's everyone. So... was anyone doing anything really important that they need help finishing?" Most of the room shrugs. "Good. I didn't think there'd be much. The only thing we haven't really gotten to do yet was shooting practice, because I didn't want to make enough noise to draw attention to us. We at least got through the gun safety thing, but the target practice will have to wait until we get out on the road."

Dave asks, "Now what, though? You said this place wasn't really better than any other without electricity."

Sam shrugs a little. "Actually, I'd be fine with just packing up and going. It's not even noon and I don't think we need to do anything else here, we got most of it done yesterday." Looking around the room, Sam asks, "Any objections?"

Within half an hour, everyone is finishing last minute packing, double checking the bedrooms and basement, going over the whole house, even the attic, for anything else they could use or take with them. Kurt, since he'd packed his bag last night, is in the kitchen taking the frozen bottles and moving them into a big Coleman cooler that was supposed to keep things cold for up to six days. _I guess we'll find out how true that is._

After he'd evenly spaced out the bottles, Kurt took a couple of the pans of frozen water and busted them before pouring the shattered ice into the bottom of the cooler. Next he'd loaded in the meat and then topped it off with the rest of the ice. Kurt knew they had a second, much smaller, ice chest for things like milk, hot dogs, and sandwich ingredients. They were prepared to ditch that whole cooler once the stuff inside went bad, probably tomorrow or the next day. This one needed to last til they got to the new house. It probably wouldn't even be opened until they got there.

As he's loading up the second one with drinks and the only meat they'd left unfrozen, Sam comes in. "You done with the big one?" When Kurt nods, he opens it to look it over once. Grinning, Sam closes it and takes a big marker out of his pocket. He writes 'Frozen Meat - Do Not Open!' on it and then calls out for Finn to help him pack it to the nav.

Just before closing the smaller one up, Kurt grabs the few things left in the freezer that could work as ice until they stop somewhere. Once it's loaded with frozen vegetables and pizza rolls, Kurt closes it. When Sam comes back in, Kurt explains to just toss those when they get the bags of ice.

Everyone grabs their own bags and starts to slowly migrate back toward the garage. As Sebastian and Travis joke and push each other around, Kurt remembers what it had felt like to leave his house for the last time and feels a little sad for them. His family had only lived in that house for a couple years but it had been undeniably **home**. Leaving had been really hard on him and Finn. He remembered the pain of packing their parents' room and sorting through their clothes. Sebastian and Travis had just shrugged and told the girls to take whatever they thought was useful.

If it wasn't for the small photo album Sebastian had brought him the first night, Kurt would think that the Smythe brothers had no sense of family at all. Seb had asked him to put it with all of Kurt's pictures from their house so that he wouldn't lose it in the shuffle. Unable to resist, he'd peeked inside and found pages filled with baby pictures and a few family portrait type pictures from their childhood. The only recent pictures tucked into it were of just Travis and Sebastian, and what he assumed were their friends. There were a few pictures of a little old couple but it looked years old, so they had probably died.

As they all pile into the trucks, Kurt watches Sebastian glance at the house once and sigh before climbing in. He immediately turned to say something to his brother, sitting in the back row with the girls. Kurt's attention is pulled away by Sarah running up and hugging him around the waist.

"I'm riding in the other truck this time, because there's more stuff now."

Kurt smiles, running his fingers through her hair. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry you'll have to ride with Sebastian and Santana."

Sarah nods, hugging him tighter. "It's going to be so boring without you and Noah."

Kurt reaches into his messenger bag that he'd yet to stow in the back and hands her his iPod. "Here, I've got a little of everything on there, thanks to glee."

When Sam starts clapping and directing everyone to the trucks a bit more forcefully, Kurt leans to kiss her on her temple before pushing her toward the truck. He's putting the keys in the ignition and waiting on Sam to stop playing dictator and get in, when the passenger door opens. Turning, Kurt blinks at Puck, sliding somewhat sedately inside.

Noticing Kurt's stare, Puck coughs. "Sam said he wanted to sit behind you so he could give you better protection on that side or something."

Kurt blushes and turns to face the front, nodding. It's the first time they'd been face to face since... this morning. He's still not really sure if Puck knows he was awake, and he's still confused about why Puck, who was straight, was doing **that** anyway. He fully intends to ask a lot of awkward questions but now is definitely not the time. Luckily they have first watch tonight, so they won't have to attempt to sleep again before he gets a chance.

As Sam finally shuts his door and puts on his seat belt, Kurt starts up the nav and pulls up to the front gate, Dave stopping behind him. Finn and Sam pop out, slinging their guns around their backs. After they've managed to force the gates open with Kurt's crowbar, they wait until the trucks have pulled out onto the road before chaining it closed again. They'd decided to leave it locked but with the key still in it.

The door shuts behind Finn just as a zombie comes limping out of a side street. They'd decided to have Kurt drive lead this time, with Sam or Puck directing via map or GPS. They'd also managed to charge up all the batteries Sam had grabbed and loaded the CBs, but they were still considered for 'emergency' use. The walkie talkies are more convenient anyway, since they charge using a USB port and are much smaller and easier to keep hold of.

Having decided to get the hell out of Bellefontaine and hit a gas station in the next town, Kurt pulls away and heads east, keeping to side streets and going out of town into more farmland. When they turn south on 179, Santana speaks out over the radio, "Oh good. More corn. I've missed it."

Snorting, Kurt glances at Puck as he grabs the radio. "Who let Satan have the walkie talkie? You're gonna want to take that away."

It's Sebastian that answers. "She keeps lunging forward and grabbing it out of my lap. If I didn't know she was a lesbian..."

Kurt groans. "God, they're letting Sebastian keep it? Decidedly **not better**."

Chuckling at Kurt, Sam reaches out for the walkie talkie. After Puck hands it back, he sobers up and says, "By the way guys, I tried to call my brother, to tell him we're leaving, but the phone didn't work. I don't know if the problem is on my end or his, but it looks like we're well and truly cut off now."

Glancing in the rear view mirror, Kurt quietly says, "Don't worry, Sam. I'm sure they're fine. You just talked to him yesterday and he said he was rationing well and they still had power. It won't take us long to get there." Sam just nods, passing the radio back.

After about their third switch from one flat, corn filled country road to another, making their way to West Liberty, Finn asks, "Weren't you going to have us practice shooting a little before we got too far out?"

Puck nods, looking around. "He has a point. There are probably only like ten zombies within a five mile radius out here."

Nodding, Sam explains, "True, this would be a perfect place for it, but we need to pull in and grab ice for the milk and shit before it gets too warm. I'm sure we'll see plenty of roads that look just like this."

Kurt snorts again. "That's a safe bet."

* * *

Even taking it slower than normal and having to give a few wrecked or abandoned cars a wide berth, it only takes them about half an hour to reach West Liberty. The gas station they stop at luckily kept their ice outside in a refrigerated storage bin, so the girls and Travis break it open and start fixing the cooler while all the guys head inside. After taking out the four zombies, they grab all the toilet paper, lighters, all the coffee cans under the counter, baby wipes -Puck arguing that anyone around kids knew they were majorly useful-, and every energy drink or supplement in the store.

When they come back outside they debate whether or not it's worth opening the underground tank to siphon but decide since they'd just filled up in Bellefontaine to let it go and get back on the road. If worse comes to worse, they have the spare gas cans.

As they pull back out and head south, Sam says, "Okay, **now** we need to be on the lookout for a good place to stop and practice."

After about five miles, he taps Kurt on the shoulder. "Pull over here, we're about half way to the next town, so there's less zombies here."

Kurt picks an open parking lot with a small group of silos. There's a small house nearby but no one attempts to go closer to it. Kurt pulls to the back of the lot so that they're facing the fields. Sam and Finn jump out, the blonde leaning back in to ask, "You guys comin?"

Feeling his face turn bright red, Kurt stammers out, "Uh... no. No sense wasting ammo when I've had to practice at the stores and gas stations. You guys have fun."

Puck just shrugs, also making no move to get out. "I'm good. We'll just keep watch on the house and shit."

Grinning, Sam says, "Okay, sure. Just remember, we can still see you guys."

Quickly shutting the door and walking away, Sam doesn't see the confused frown Kurt aims at him, or the glare Puck throws him.

They watch the other truck unload, the girls helping Sarah with her .22 and Sam showing all the other guys how to best hold their guns, both pistols and rifles. Kurt sighs. _This is going to take awhile._

Hearing his sigh, Puck glances at him for a second before looking out over the house and road. After a few seconds, Kurt realizes that if the others will be busy for awhile...

Coughing awkwardly, Kurt looks down at his hands before blurting out, "Why would you do that?" In the silence that follows, Kurt shifts uncomfortably before looking up at Puck. The taller boy is just staring at him with a blank face. Kurt clears his throat. "Seriously... I'm not **mad** , I just don't understand."

Turning back to frown at the house, Puck quietly says, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Glaring now, Kurt huffs. "Yes, you do. This morning... and possibly yesterday... I was awake. Like I said, I'm not mad or anything, I'm just confused."

Sighing heavily, Puck leans his head back, still staring at the house and refusing to look Kurt in the eye. "Dammit. I knew it was a horrible idea. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Another sigh. "Yesterday, I was half asleep. I really didn't mean to uh... I just woke up and you were pressed against me and it just happened."

Kurt blushes. _So... yesterday really was mostly my fault. What wonderful news._ "Okay, well what about today? If you try to tell me you were asleep, I'm going to call 'bullshit'."

Puck snorts, finally glancing at him before quickly looking away again, this time staring at the road. "No, I wasn't asleep today. I woke up and your ass was pushed against me again. Can you really blame me for not moving away? Then before I'd really thought about it, I was reaching out to touch you... I'm really sorry I did that to you. I don't really have an excuse."

Turning to face him a bit more, Kurt cocks an eyebrow. "I don't want an excuse, I want an explanation." When Puck looks confused, Kurt huffs again. "Why would you do that at all? And don't say because you were horny, I get that. But you're straight. I know there are no girls available at the moment or whatever, but I'm not really okay with just being something warm to rub against."

Avoiding Kurt's eyes again, Puck slumps down in his seat. "You're not. And I'm pretty sure I'm bi. Or pan. I could never really figure out the difference." When his only response in silence, Puck turns to look at Kurt, who's staring at him with slightly widened eyes. "Don't look at me like that, you knew I was a sex shark, are you really that surprised that I wouldn't say 'no' to **any** kind of sex? Not that I've done it with a dude yet, but..."

Kurt sucks in a breath and almost chokes on it. Taking a few minutes to process, Kurt says, "Uh... bi means attracted to both boys and girls, flat out. Pan is more about emotions, you don't really notice the gender, you'd love anyone. Boy, girl, trans, whatever. Bi is just a more... broad term."

Puck laughs. "God, only you would interrupt **this** conversation for a sexuality lesson."

Blushing, Kurt explains, "Well, a few years ago I made a very stupid comment and Blaine tore into me over it. After that, I did some research." It's only after he says his name that he realizes he probably should have been thinking more about Blaine in the past few days.

Puck seems to have a similar thought because he rubs his hands on his jeans, going back to checking for zombies. "I'm sorry about Blaine. You've been handling all this way better than most of us, and you had more to lose."

Kurt shifts, uncomfortably. That probably seems true to everyone else. He'd lost his parents, just like everyone else... But, he'd also lost 'the love of his life'...

Picking at his nails, Kurt admits, "It doesn't really feel like it's worse for me than everyone else. Okay, worse for me than Sebastian. I'm pretty sure the only two people he really loved, or even cared a lot about, a week ago are out there learning to shoot." They both snort a little, watching Travis holding a pistol like a stereotypical gang member only to have Sam smack him on the back of the head and correct his grip. When they look back toward the road, Puck asks,

"So... you and Blaine..."

Sighing heavily, Kurt says, "I'm not really sure how to feel about it. We were fighting. We'd actually just had a fight the day before, but we had been fighting a lot. I'm not sure how much longer we'd have lasted before one of us said or did something that tore us apart. I haven't really had time to sit and think about it. I don't really want to. It doesn't matter, he's gone. He was in Columbus, at the fucking mall. There's no way he made it. I'm just trying to move on."

Puck nods. "I get it. I just figured you'd be a bit more torn up about it. You guys just seemed so **together**."

Kurt laughs sardonically, "Well, we were the only gay guys we knew until recently. We were only together for a little over a year. Granted, in glee club terms, that's like **married** , but even for high school relationships, it wasn't that long. I'm pretty sure that if he'd had options, he'd have chosen someone else."

Eying him for a second, Puck asks, "What about you? Would you have chosen someone else?"

Kurt shrugs. "I don't know. I mean, I loved him. Probably always will... he was the first guy that ever really liked me. He was my fourth major crush, and he was the only one that liked me back. Not at the same time, of course, I'd almost given up hope by the time he came around."

Cocking an eyebrow, Puck says, "Okay, everyone knows about Finn, and I'm guessing Sam, because... well it's Sam. Who was the other one?"

Kurt blushes again. "It doesn't matter. It was purely physical, so it wasn't as strong as the others. He was a total asshole at the time... I didn't even know him. It was freshman year, probably more of a 'try to distract myself from Finn' sort of thing. I never told him, he never knew."

Smirking, Puck points out, "You're babbling, which means you're nervous. Now I have to know. Come on, spill. Was it Dave? It was totally Dave. The other two were jocks. And if it wasn't awkward, you wouldn't still care."

Kurt huffs, curling in on himself. Eventually he mumbles out, "It was you, okay? Like I said, it was freshman year, and during the brief period between you joining the football team and when you started harassing me. It died out pretty quickly when you started throwing me into dumpsters."

After several long seconds of silence in which Kurt looks anywhere but at him, Puck slams his fist down on the dash. Ignoring Kurt's indignant squawk, he bites out, "Damn. Why did I have to be such an asshole?" Not turning to look at Kurt, he continues, "You're not just a warm body to rub against. I've liked you for **months**."


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt squawks again, "Wh- You **like** me? **What**?"

Turning to him, Puck shrugs. "Yep. Not sure when it started really. You've always been hot, but you caught so much shit for being gay that I wasn't about to hit on you and be next in line for slushies. Then you met Blaine and I just shrugged it off. I was glad you were happy, that you'd found someone that was as 'out and proud' or whatever as you were."

Kurt still seems to need a minute to regain speech, so Puck shrugs again. "It wasn't until Valentine's Day that I really thought about what it would be like to be with you. You were spouting all that crap about true love and all I could do was talk about the girls I'd been banging. None of which I ever saw again after V-day. You were getting all that crap from Blaine and I wondered if I'd have even thought to do something like that if I was with someone. Probably not."

Kurt gapes at him. "Okay, one- those gifts weren't even from Blaine. I never told anyone because I didn't want to out him, but they were from Dave. And before you ask, he's way over it, he likes someone else. And two- you definitely would've thought to do a romantic gesture like that if you cared about the person enough. Your methods aren't always the best but you've always made it clear that you'd do anything for someone you loved."

Puck opens his mouth to say something else but gets cut off by the back doors opening. Sam and Finn climb back in, having finished practicing.

Sam looks back to make sure Dave is ready to follow before tapping the side of Kurt's seat. "Let's go, dude. The shots will have pulled anything close by, let's be gone before they get here."

Blushing, Kurt turns the nav on and pulls back out. Once they're headed down the long, bare road, Kurt turns to Puck and smiles a little, still blushing.

When Puck says, "So... will you give me a shot?" Kurt turns to him with wide eyes before looking back at Finn and Sam. Puck laughs. "Oh, dude. They know. Finn actually **guessed** around prom. I told Sam just before nationals. That's why they were making such stupid fucking comments the past few days." The last is said with Puck turning to glare at them.

Finn shrugs. "What? He's single now, you needed to tell him. Clearly **something** happened or you wouldn't be talking about it."

Puck continues glaring. "That 'something' had nothing to do with you. And just because he's single doesn't mean he's ready to have a new guy trying to get into his pants." He stops to look at Kurt, panicking, "Not that that's all I'm after, though!"

Kurt giggles, keeping his eyes on the road. "Yes, Noah. Thank you. I kinda guessed that. You don't get nervous about sex. It's just feelings that make you awkward."

Laughing, Sam claps Kurt on the shoulder. "See! I told you it'd be fine if you just told him." He quickly amends, "Just don't have sex until we get condoms."

Puck turns back to the front, mumbling, "I'm clean, thank you very much. One of those girls on Valentine's gave me the clap. After I got it treated, I got tested again, just to be sure. I haven't slept with anyone since."

Sam sighs, but drops it. "Thank god none of us have to worry about pregnancy... unless someone does it on purpose at some point."

Kurt giggles again. "Go team gay!"

Finn groans. "What about the rest of us? Even if you guys end up together and Seb and Dave pair off, the girls are already together... What are Sam and I supposed to do?"

Puck grins. "I suggest starting with hand jobs. If you dive straight into oral you might bite off more than you can chew."

Puck's pained yelps are drowned out by Kurt's increased laughs.

* * *

By the time they get to the town Sam has deemed their home for the night, Kurt is starting to feel claustrophobic. They'd only stopped one other time that day, in a tiny town called Yellow Springs, to get gas. While Finn, Sam, and Dave had used the pumps to pull up gas, Kurt and Brittany -covered by Puck and Santana- had gotten enough snacks out of the back of their trucks for everyone. The original plan had been to make sandwiches, but a few zombies had shown up, and they didn't want to stop again.

He'd had enough time to grab a plastic sack filled with Chex Mix and granola bars, along with some Gatorade. They'd only had to shoot four zombies before pulling away with plenty of snacks and full tanks of gas.

The day had been mostly uneventful, not that Kurt was stupid enough to say that... or even think it too loudly. He'd been terrified of driving around Springfield, the biggest city they'd gone near since Z-day. He'd been relieved to find it not much different from I-75 the last time they'd been on it. There were a lot of clustered wrecks and abandoned cars, especially around the exits, but he'd had no trouble getting around them with the wide lanes and lack of concrete barriers.

They'd stayed on 68 all day, finally coming into Fayetteville just before 8pm. Since it would be dark in just over an hour, Sam picks a place just outside of town to stay in. He'd looked for a couple of miles before all but screeching in Kurt's ear. "There!"

Kurt had jolted but managed to pull off the road and turn so sharply, it was almost a U-turn. As he'd driven slowly down the road, Sam had said, "Over there, the garage, building thing."

Pulling in front of a giant, metal sliding door, Kurt had raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Really? We can't even use one of the houses?"

Shaking his head, Sam had grabbed his rifle and opened the door. "Nah, too spread out. We need to stay in one room. And if we used a house, they'd see light in the windows."

Getting out, Kurt sighed. Looking at the giant metal storage building, he has to concede that at least they'd be able to keep the trucks inside with them. _Yay! No loading and unloading supplies._

The building didn't have power, of course, or much of anything else. It had been converted into a garage, so there were plenty of power tools and car parts. Grinning, Kurt looks around before calling out to Sam, "Before we leave tomorrow, I need to go through this stuff, see if they have anything we didn't get from Seb's."

Sam nods. "Sure, sure. We're gonna head over to the house over there and see if we can find some mattresses to haul over. No reason to sleep on the floor if we don't have to. You, Travis and Sarah can start dragging out the food. If we're going to cook that meat, we need to do it fast. Put the grill in the back though."

Kurt tried not to think about why they were all carrying machetes with their guns. _Silent kills don't draw attention..._

Shuddering slightly, Kurt tells Sarah to stay in the truck or the nav until they get back. While Kurt hauls the grill out the back door, Travis follows with the coal and lighter fluid. After getting the fire started, Kurt steps back inside, telling Travis to stay in the doorway where he can see him. Kurt pulls out the meat, steaks apparently, and steps back over to check on the fire.

A sudden noise from behind has Kurt turning and raising his rifle in the same second. When he sees it's just Seb and Dave struggling with a queen sized mattress, he relaxes. They're shortly followed by Finn and Puck hefting a king sized one, although they're more dragging it than carrying it. Brittany comes in carrying a loaf of bread, a pack of blueberry bagels, and a few cans of vegetables.

Santana is hauling a couple jugs of water and a heavier weighted camping chair than anything they have. At his questioning look, she'd shrugged. "Some of our guys are a bit bigger than chairs from Walmart can accommodate." Sam follows close behind, keeping a close eye on the road and the few houses in their line of sight.

The mattresses are laid end to end and tucked into the corner opposite the front door, next to a half bath. Dave went to relieve Travis, taking over watching the steaks. A few minutes later, Finn had stepped outside, carrying his gun, to help keep watch. Kurt snorted. _Finn shooting wouldn't be much help, but his heart's in the right place. Well, at least eye sight is good._

An hour later they'd managed to cook the food, including two cans of corn once they'd pulled out a saucepan and made room for it on the grill. Sam had also light proofed the room. It had been easy to do with only one window and a small glass panel on the front door, both easily covered with aluminum foil and tape. He'd left one section not taped down so whoever was on watch could look out.

Just after it had gotten truly dark, they'd covered the grill and shut the back door. As they sit and eat, Kurt listens to Sarah quietly chatter about what it's like to ride in the 'other truck'. She'd gotten along surprisingly well with Sebastian, finding him funny.

It's only when Kurt catches Puck watching him out of the corner of his eye that he allows himself to really think about what he'd said earlier. His question had been diverted earlier by Finn and Sam's presence... and Kurt is sure that if he doesn't bring it up again, Puck will just take that as rejection... so Kurt really needs to figure out what he wants.

* * *

A couple hours later, after Sam had deemed the water still safe, they'd all taken turns using the half bath to clean up as much as they could. Everyone but Kurt and Puck had settled down to sleep. Puck had put the camping chair under the window so that he could look out without having to move. From where Kurt was sitting, he could see both the bed and Puck, but knew that Puck couldn't see them.

Since it was Finn and Sam's night off, they had taken the queen mattress. Finn was wedged between the wall and Sarah, with Sam on her other side. Sam was back to back with Travis, who was facing Sebastian. Seb was on the very edge of the king mattress with Dave pressed close to him. Kurt giggles a little, wondering if they would have the same problem he and Puck had. Santana and Brittany were laying closest to the edge, since they had next watch.

Once all the rewashed dishes had been stowed in the back of Dave's truck, Kurt had settled back against the wall near the back door. He'd been watching Puck who was writing or drawing again, looking somewhat down.

Kurt bites his lip. He knows what Puck wants, and he can't deny that he's attracted to the tanned boy, obviously. But... is now really the time to be considering starting a relationship? _If not now, when? I have no guarantee that I'll even be alive this time tomorrow. Or that he will... I already lost one boyfriend this week, am I really prepared to lose another?_

Shaking his head slightly, Kurt relents, _Okay, so is_ _ **that**_ _my real problem? I'm just too upset about Blaine?_ It only takes him a few seconds to answer that question. _No... sadly, that's not it at all. Maybe_ _ **that's**_ _the problem. I was in love with Blaine. There were times I'd pictured spending the rest of my life with him. How can I even be considering starting something with another guy mere days after his death?_

Kurt sighs. _That's it, isn't it? It's not that I'm upset over Blaine, or not ready to move on... it's that I_ _ **am**_ _. If I loved him... how can I want to be with Puck already?_

Picking at his nails, Kurt glances up at Puck under his lashes. The mohawk'd boy is frowning down at the pad of paper in his lap, tapping his foot. _He looks... agitated. Does he think I'm turning him down?_ _ **Am**_ _I turning him down?_

Shaking his head again, Kurt mentally slaps himself. _What the hell am I doing? The world ended. Almost everyone I've ever_ _ **met**_ _are dead now... why am I trying to keep up appearances of what's 'normal'? As far as we know, I'm like 1/20_ _th_ _of the population of America. Maybe whatever I want is the_ _ **new**_ _normal._

Deciding to once again say 'fuck normal' Kurt gets up slowly and quietly, trying not to wake up the sleeping people on the other side of the room. He doesn't know what their collective reaction to what he's about to do would be, but it would definitely get in the way of what he wants right now.

Puck has just checked out the tiny opening in the window and put the foil back down when suddenly he has a lap full of Hummel. When Puck yelps slightly, Kurt glares.

"Shhh! Don't wake them up! I really don't think we need an audience."

Staring at him with wide eyes, Puck eventually manages to mutter, "Uh... I don't care who watches at this point."

Smirking, Kurt shrugs. "That's a bit too kinky for our first time." At Puck's eyes opening even wider, Kurt giggles. "Not that I'd sleep with you on a first date, anyway. But, just for future reference."

When Puck still doesn't really respond, Kurt watches him carefully. Eventually, he stage whispers, "It would be great if you'd stop looking at me like I'm a freak." A blink, but no other movement. Kurt huffs, shifting his weight slightly. "Should I go back over there?"

Snapping out of it, Puck manages to hiss, "No! God, sorry, I'm just... freaking out. Sorry. Uh... no. I promise to never kick you off my lap... unless zombies attack."

Kurt smiles at him, shifting back forward. "Okay. Well, I think we've done more than enough talking."

When he leans in to kiss Puck, the tanned boy gasps slightly. The gasp quickly turns into a moan and Puck reaches up, pulling Kurt closer. Wrapping an arm around the smaller boy's waist and sliding the other into his hair, Puck groans lowly, opening Kurt's lips with his own. As their tongues meet, Kurt moves his arms up to wrap around the back of his head, gripping the nape of his neck.

Several long minutes later, Kurt leans back to gasp out, "So um... I want to ask if we're dating now, but that sounds really stupid, considering."

Snorting, Puck buries his face into Kurt's neck. "Oh god. What a perfect time to get a boyfriend, probably just before we all die."

Kurt smirks a little, turning in his lap to put one arm around his shoulder, his other hand reaching out to thread his fingers with Puck's. "Well, I don't know about you, but I plan to live long enough to see all these zombies rot and fall apart. I can't imagine they'll last more than a few years without just being random nasty things rolling on the ground. They're just meat. Meat tends not to do too well in the hot sun or freezing cold."

Puck tilts his head, impressed. "Good point, babe. Who knows, maybe if we can hole up somewhere long enough the world will fix itself and we can just live like the Amish or whatever."

Kurt giggles. "Uh, not so much. Pretty sure the Amish don't have lube."

They both jump at the muttered "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." from Sam as he steps into the bathroom and shuts the door.

They're still laughing when he comes back out. Kurt quietly calls, "Sorry Sam!" as the blonde stumbles back toward the beds. Turning back to Puck, Kurt smiles at him. "We should pay more attention, we're supposed to be watching for crazy or dead people. Oh but, remind me next time we go near a pharmacy or something to pick up more lube. We only have what I brought from home."

Puck snorts again, thumping his head back on the wall. "I can hardly wait to explain that to everyone else."

Kurt just shakes his head. "This group consists of Sebastian and Santana. We won't have to explain anything."

"Point."

* * *

They spend the rest of their shift playing Dots and Boxes, kissing, and occasionally checking the peephole. It's only after about two hours that Puck realizes that checking outside is near pointless because there was so little light. If it wasn't for the almost full moon, they'd have been blind.

When it's finally time to wake up Santana and Brittany, Kurt gets out of Puck's lap and pops his back. Rubbing his hands on his thighs, Puck groans. "Okay, from now on if we sit like that, we need to get up and move every now and then. Ouch."

Giving him a guilty look, Kurt says, "I'm sorry! Next time I sit in your lap, I promise to stretch more." It's only when Puck smirks that he realizes what he said. Blushing all the way down his neck, Kurt smacks him, muttering, "Shut up."

Puck grins. "I didn't say a word. That was all you."

Huffing, Kurt walks away from him, going to wake up the girls. After they're coherent enough to be trusted, Kurt moves to the bed to join Puck, who'd put his back to the rest of the group. When he lays down, Kurt doesn't know if he should push right against him, afraid of causing a repeat of the previous morning. They also hadn't discussed if they were telling everyone about them or not...

Breaking into his panic, Puck reaches out and drags Kurt closer, wrapping his arms around him. When he relaxes against the bigger boy, Puck leans in to whisper, "Stop over thinking it. I'm pretty sure there'll be no secrets with this group, and I don't really want to hide it anyway. And I promise not to molest you in your 'sleep' tonight. I'll save that for when we're awake."

Giggling, Kurt kisses him before putting his head back down, tucking his face into Puck's neck and trying to sleep. The hand slipping under his shirt so a thumb can rub at his side slowly relaxes him enough to slip off, barely able to hear Santana and Brittany whispering from the corner with the window.

When Kurt wakes up about six hours later, Puck is poking him again, this time with his finger wiggling in his side.

"Wake up, princess. We gotta get going soon." Kurt turns to face him and buries his face into his neck, grumbling. Chuckling, Puck leans down to whisper, "Unless you want to explain why you cuddling into me has given me a boner, get up, babe."

Laughing quietly, Kurt flops on his back to stretch and yawn before looking around. He was actually one of the last to get up, almost everyone else already standing and gathering their stuff together. Sam calling out not to worry about noise, they'd be leaving as soon as possible.

After half an hour, Kurt had brushed his teeth and helped Sarah wash her hair in the sink. He grabbed a bagel and started loading the food back up into the plastic bins in Dave's truck. The cooler was deemed still cold enough and also repacked, although empty of everything but some lunchmeat, hot dogs, and enough milk for Sarah to have with lunch.

Everyone is doing last minute checks to make sure they haven't forgotten anything, the girls already loaded into the back seat of the truck, when Kurt suddenly remembers the grill. As he jogs toward the back door, he calls over his shoulder to Sam, "Hey! We forgot to repack the grill. Make room in the truck?"

Just as he's opening the back door, Puck yells out, "Kurt! Wait!"

Turning to see what the problem is, Kurt doesn't realize he's pushed the door open until it's suddenly ripped out of his hand. When he looks back out the door he shrieks, faced with two zombies. The closest, a huge guy in a pair of ripped overalls, is almost nose to nose with him. Stumbling, Kurt trips over his own feet and crawls backward as fast as he can. It's not until he stops to grab his rifle that he realizes he'd left it on the hood of the nav.

Fighting to get his .45 out of his holster while still crawling frantically backward, Kurt screams again when the closest zombie grabs his ankle. His grip on the gun slips as he's pulled back toward the door. Scrambling to pull away, Kurt yelps when a sudden shot fires, clipping the zombie on the shoulder and knocking it back.

As Kurt pulls free again, the second zombie, this time a woman, climbs over the already advancing one. Kurt has just wrapped his hand back around his gun when suddenly at least five shots ring out, and the zombies fall. Pulling his now unnecessary pistol out, Kurt stares wide eyed out the door.

Before he can say or do anything, Sam and Dave run forward. After kicking out the remains of what they're assuming is a previously married couple, they grab the grill and slam the door shut. When Sam turns to berate Kurt, he finds Puck hovering over him and yelling at him as he checks him for scratches and bites.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, princess?! You didn't even take your fucking gun! How could you open the fucking door, knowing we were making that much fucking noise and not even take back up or a fucking gun?! If I wanted a dumbass, I'd have kissed Finn, for fuck's sake!"

Ignoring the indignant, "Hey! Don't drag me into this!" Puck slams his mouth down on Kurt, kissing him hard.

Sam throws his hands up in the air. "Dammit guys! Don't kiss until we know he's not infected!" Also ignoring Sam, Kurt clings to Puck harder, pulling him in by his hair. _Oh Jesus fucking Christ. I can't believe I almost not only got myself killed but let two zombies in here. Fuck! I'm so fucking stupid!_

It's only Sarah's question that pulls him out of his kissing and pity party. "Is he really infected? Is he gonna turn into one of those things?"

Hearing the tiny, shaky voice, Kurt pulls away from Puck and looks up at her, standing behind Sebastian's legs and clinging to the hem of his shirt like a girl half her age.

Sighing heavily, Kurt shakes his head. "No, sweetie, it didn't get me. We'll have to check to make sure, but he only grabbed my foot and I'm wearing jeans and boots." Looking back up at Sam, Kurt pleads, "Don't make us wait the full hour, I want out of this damn place."

Sam nods before saying, "Okay, but you won't like the alternative."

* * *

It takes longer to stop blushing than it would've to turn. Kurt can't bring himself to look Finn or Sam in the face again for a long time after they'd had him stand in the tiny bathroom and strip, both of them looking him over very carefully for any fresh bites or scratches.

Puck had, of course, also volunteered to help, but Kurt had shot that down pretty quickly muttering, "Not on the second date either, Puckerman."

As they'd checked him over, they'd explained that it had been Puck that shot the first round, the one that knocked the zombie off him. The others -sans Finn, because ya know... no- had opened fire when Kurt was far enough away to not be in danger. Surprisingly, Sam hadn't had his rifle when it started either, so he'd also been screamed at. It was an interesting way to learn a lesson. One Kurt hoped not to repeat.

When they'd climbed back into the trucks, Kurt had reached over the console to kiss Puck again, mumbling, "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on."

Sarah had been the most worried but after being assured by Kurt, Sam, and Finn that he would be fine, she'd finally agreed to get in the truck, only insisting on clinging to him for about two minutes. Puck was not as easily soothed, all but creeper staring at him for most of the morning and clinging to his hand tightly for over an hour.

They were unsurprised to find around ten zombies stumbling down the drive as they left. Speeding up, Kurt clipped two of them as he drove by, Dave hitting at least one more behind him. Kurt just really wanted to get the fuck away from here.

They're barely back on the main road before Santana pipes up, via radio, "So, anyone want to explain to me why our resident straight manwhore was molesting our blushing virgin gay this morning?"

Huffing, Kurt mutters, "I'm not a virgin."

Puck grins. "Good to know, babe."

Finn snatches the walkie talkie. "Oh my god, Santana. Thank you so much for the mental images I just got hit with."

"Ohh, like what? What did they say?"

Sam grabs it away from Finn. "Apparently, Kurt isn't a virgin."

Santana snorts into the walkie talkie, "Well, at least the hobbit went out with a bang-"

She's cut off just to be replaced by Sebastian. "Sorry about that, next time I'll keep it **in** my pants and maybe she'll stop grabbing it."

Before he can let go of the button, Santana yells out, "Don't be so sure about that!"

Sebastian continues, ignoring her, "Oh, on the subject of gay sex, Dave and I cleaned out that Dollar Store of condoms and lube. We just didn't tell you guys because we wanted to worry Sam as much as we could. Oh, and Puck? Sarah has some questions for you."

Kurt giggles when his freshly minted boyfriend starts banging his head on the dash.


	10. Chapter 10

Their plan had been to gas up when they hit town, but as soon as they hit the city limits, they realize it's not an option. Seemingly every zombie in town is swarming around, heading vaguely toward where they'd been.

Sam grunts. "Damn. I guess the town is small enough that they heard the gunshots all over."

Kurt glances at the gas tank and shrugs. "We have enough to get back out to the road. Once we hit a straight stretch we can pull over and use cans until we get to the next gas station."

Sam sighs before signaling Dave about the change of plans.

"No complaints here, fuck this place." Kurt frowns at how upset Dave sounds. _Shit. I really screwed up. I wonder how long it will take everyone to really relax? Or maybe it's a good thing? We can't afford to be as relaxed as I was, new relationships or not._

As if sensing his thoughts, Puck squeezes his hand, not turning from checking the map. A few miles out of town, down yet **another** flat, corn filled road, Finn, Sam, Dave and Sebastian all get out and empty a gas can into each of their tanks.

Once they're back on the road and headed down 50, Kurt starts to really worry about the next few hours. Pretty soon he'd be getting close to Cincinnati, they didn't plan to go through it, of course, but they had to find a bridge and if it wasn't passable they had the choice of either going miles and miles out of the way and hoping for the best, or actually going into to town to access the main bridges. Neither option excited Kurt. He just wanted to get over the damn river and get to Sam's house.

They pull over in Owensville at a BP. As Finn and Dave take the caps off the gas tank, Kurt, Puck, Sam and Sebastian stand guard, looking around for zombies. They'd grabbed machetes too, this time. Knowing that both trucks and two gas cans needed to be filled, they couldn't afford to draw even more attention, especially since the houses were so close together and condensed.

As Kurt looks around, he can see four zombies already stumbling toward them and he grips the machete in his hand. They'd all donned heavy jackets, light leather gloves and scarves wrapped tight around their throats, despite the heat. As Kurt hacks his way through his first zombie at close range he grimaces. He needs more practice, the zombie had gotten close enough to scratch his nails down his arm, thankfully not piercing the clothing. Checking on the others, he sees they're all fine, having done this at Sebastian's house.

Finn finishes first and motions for Dave to also fill the gas cans when he's done, moving to get a few bags of ice for the small cooler. It takes a few bags since they'd mostly melted but he manages to stock it back up in time to help Dave lift the filled cans back into the truck. As he's loading the last one back up and Dave is closing the tank again, Finn glances behind him at the Dunkin' Donuts. "I'd kill for a doughnut... think anything in there is still good?"

Kurt wrinkles his nose but it's Sam that answers, shrugging. "Um... maybe? If no one else cares, we can go check? We just have to move quick, so no time to melee it. Then we can hit the gas station, see if they have some cereal or snacks for those of more discerning tastes."

Kurt and Dave get back in the trucks, stowing the machetes again before pulling up close to the store so Santana can get out to go in with them. Kurt hears five or six shots ring out before they see Finn and Santana through the window, grabbing their biggest boxes and loading them up with whatever didn't look too stale or molded.

Kurt beams at them as they come out with huge containers of coffee and load them into Dave's truck. _Okay, I didn't think of that. Mmmm. Totally worth it to go in there. Let's hope we get somewhere with a working coffee maker._

They quickly move on to the gas station, four more shots firing. Seeing three zombies getting fairly close, Kurt steps out of the truck and shoots them before yelling out as loud as he can. "Okay guys, grab what's in front of you and get the fuck out here. We gotta go."

Each carrying two loaded plastic bags, they all jump back in and Kurt finds out that his nav can mow down zombies without a problem as he drives over two of them, not stopping to find out what the loud squelching sound was. He really didn't want to know.

Once they're clear of town and back on the fairly deserted 132, Finn starts passing out food. Kurt waits until after Puck finishes before he eats anything, warning him that he might have to take the wheel or something. The road is, shockingly, flat and fairly open, but at least there's no corn, just sparse houses.

Once Kurt is done with his handfuls of dry Frosted Flakes, he eats a package of cookies and a Little Debbie snack cake. Glaring at the offending wrappers he huffs.

"I'm going to get so freaking fat in the zombie apocalypse."

Turning to stare at him incredulously, Puck scoffs, "What? Are you insane? At least three of us could probably wrap our fingers around your hips and they'd touch. Dave definitely could. You won't get fat, princess. You might gain some hips, but trust me, no one's going to complain about your ass getting rounder."

Blushing hotly, Kurt reaches over to smack him, ignoring Finn and Sam's laughs. "Noah! Oh my god! Don't talk about my ass with my brother in the car!"

Finn snorts. "Where have you been the last few months? Like I haven't heard him wax poetic about your ass before?"

Kurt darts wide eyed looks at Puck. "Are you fucking serious? You've talked about my ass to them?!"

Puck just grins. "Of course I have. It's one of my favorite parts of you."

Sam leans forward to stage whisper, "Don't worry, dude. He spent way longer talking about your eyes. He just likes to pretend he's a pervert, he's actually a total sap."

Kurt giggles, trying to focus on the road. "Oh no, trust me, he's a pervert. But it's good to know he's not just... ogling my assets."

Puck glares at them both. "I'm sitting right here. And Sam, shut up! You said you wouldn't tell him."

"I said I wouldn't tell him you liked him, telling him what you said and did now that he already knows? Totally fair game." Sam grins at Puck's glare.

Kurt has barely merged from 132 to 32, when he sucks in a deep breath. "Oh god, the bridges. I didn't even think about all the bridges we have to cross. Until now it's been all small ones that I barely noticed... shit. What do I do if it's blocked, Sam?"

Puck reaches over to rub the back of Kurt's neck slightly as he drives considerably slower across a small river. Sam pats him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, dude. I've planned it out to where we're taking the least traveled route over the Ohio River and the only other one to worry about is the Kentucky River. We'll worry about that then, okay?"

Kurt nods, still feeling antsy. The bridge is thankfully a small one and it only takes a few minutes to be clear of it, the road no more clogged than it had been for the last few miles. Once they're clear and Kurt is breathing again, Finn asks,

"Just for curiosity's sake, what would we do if it **was** blocked? I mean, it's a bridge. We can't just go around."

Sam shrugs. "Depends on the bridge. If it was close to another one that crossed the same river, I'd want to go back and detour, hope for better the next time. If it was the only option, I guess we'd have to try clearing the path. That would really suck though, because it would take hours having to move each car. Not to mention we'd have to kill more and more zombies as they were attracted by the noise."

The trip down 32 is uneventful but it makes him anxious. Kurt finds himself thinking he can't wait to get the semi because then he won't be in the lead anymore. The road is still easy to traverse, not clogged or anything, but it's boxed in more. There's a concrete divider and a guardrail, both making him feel claustrophobic.

When they finally come to signs for the exit for I-275, Kurt says, "Uh... as much as I'd love to find a nice shoe store, please don't make me drive through town."

Sam chuckles, leaning forward between the seats. "No, that's a good point. This is going to be one of those times that we don't obey traffic laws. Get southbound as soon as you can and we'll take that ramp onto I-275."

As they pull up to the merging lane, Finn notes, "It looks like they were about to start road work here."

Kurt shrugs, biting his lip before saying, "Well at least they weren't in the middle of it. Can you imagine the mess?"

It takes less than a mile for Kurt to find a path between the lanes so he can switch back to the right side of the road. Puck had laughed at him that it didn't matter but Kurt just didn't feel right driving 'backwards'.

It doesn't take long for Kurt to start muttering under his breath. Puck cocks an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong, babe?"

Kurt glares at the road in front of them. "There's too many freaking bridges. You guys freaked me out talking about having to stop and this damn road has a bridge every few feet."

Sam snorts. "There's not **that** many. And it's not rivers, it's just roads."

Kurt grits his teeth. "A bridge is a bridge."

Sam sits forward again. "Speaking of bridges, when we get there, don't panic. The other side is probably going to be pretty full. We know that it was coming north, it hit Ohio hours after it hit Kentucky, so if people were running from it, they'd have been headed north. The good news is that should leave our side fairly clear."

Puck grabs Kurt's hand, squeezing it. "Just don't look at the other side. It might have things you don't want to see."

Kurt nods, wondering briefly if he means bodies or zombies before deciding he'd rather not think about it.

As they enter the turn before the bridge, Kurt takes a deep breath. The choice to stay so far out of Columbus pays off, the bridge only slightly more cluttered than the roads near by. There was one wreck almost at the end of the road that blocked the path. Kurt had pulled back and let Dave pull ahead to push the smallest car out of the way since he had a grill guard on his truck.

Once they're safely on the other side, Kurt huffs out "Thank god." and continues on I-275.

* * *

When it comes time to look for the exit, Kurt has never been happier to leave a road in his life. It had actually 'gone fairly smoothly' considering the situation, according to Sam. Kurt had just glared out the front window, not responding. _Fuck I-275 and it's fucking bridges._

His opinion had not been improved as they'd gone under a bridge at the junction for I-471 where a zombie had seemingly dropped out of the sky 15 feet in front of them. It had apparently been attracted by the noise of their approaching trucks and had fallen off the upper bridge, trying to find the noise. But, Kurt had shrieked like a girl and punched the gas, running it over in his panic. Even Puck had been smacked for laughing at him for it.

No amount of threatening to pull the car over had stopped Sam and Finn from laughing. It was only as they finally came up on the exit to 17, once again crossing a bridge, that they finally agree with Kurt. Fuck I-275.

As they cross the bridge and look down at the exit ramp they're supposed to take, they see over 150 zombies shuffling down the road, looking around like they'd heard something.

Sam speaks out first, "Shit! Gogogo! Don't go down there!"

Kurt snaps, "No shit, really?!" while speeding up.

Puck grabs the radio and says, "Obviously we aren't going down there, just follow as best you can until Sam comes up with a back up plan."

Shortly after they clear the bridge the guardrail ends and Sam points, "There! We'll go back and take 16 down, it leads to Independence too."

As Kurt hauls ass back down the same bridge as before, he doesn't turn to look but he hears Finn groan. He explains that the zombies had definitely heard them and were trying to figure out how to get up on the road.

 _Dammit. So we've probably just drawn a huge herd up here. Good luck to whoever comes this way next._ Saddened by the thought that they'd probably gotten someone killed by not taking the exit the first time, Kurt pulls off at 16 and heads south.

Sam sighs as they pass relatively close to a BP. "I wish we could stop for gas. This isn't the road I researched, so I don't know where the next gas station will be."

Kurt huffs. "Nope, no way. We're too close to that damn road. It'll be our luck those damn things will catch up. We'll risk it. We have full cans if we don't find one."

The longer it takes though, the more Kurt is convinced that he'd cursed them or something. Eventually they happen across a old fashioned gas station attached to a garage. Kurt stares wistfully at the lifts through the windows. Looking at the small garage sinks him into a bit of a funk as he's flooded, again, with the knowledge that he'll never see his dad again. That he's dead, somewhere in DC, possibly trapped and zombied in a bathroom. He kind of hopes he's still trapped. If his dad has to be a zombie, he at least hopes he isn't out killing people.

Breaking him from his maudlin thoughts, Puck walks around to his side of the nav and taps on the window. Opening the door, Kurt is suddenly wrapped in a tight hug. After a minute, Puck pulls away, kissing him on his temple. Slinging his gun back around to the front, Puck walks off without a word to Kurt. As he rounds the nav again though, he calls out, "Yo, Finn! Kurt needs to see you for a second."

Frowning slightly Kurt thinks to himself, _I'm not_ _ **that**_ _delicate, Noah. I don't need a backup hug._ It's only as Finn walks up from the back of the truck that Kurt sees that he's also fighting tears, glancing at the garage.

Smiling sadly, Kurt holds his arms out and hugs Finn, realizing that it wasn't **him** that had needed the extra comfort.

* * *

When they'd stopped at the garage, Sam had looked up the best way to get home from there using the GPS, so when they get to 2045, Kurt turns without questioning it. Aside from having to take out a mailbox to avoid a wreck in the middle of the road, it's smooth sailing.

Finally turning back onto 17, Kurt giggles. When Finn asks him why, Kurt can't really explain why the US Bank they pass makes him laugh. It just looks like such a stereotypical small town bank that it makes him laugh. Not to mention all the money inside is now completely useless. Neither reason will make him sound anymore sane, so Kurt just shakes his head. It's probably the heat.

Less than a mile and two side streets later, Kurt is directed to stop outside a small yellow house with a waist high chain link fence around it. Sam gets out and takes their walkie talkie to the porch, putting it down. Kurt can tell that he's yelling something, but he doesn't even wait for a response. He walks back toward the trucks and closes the fence, standing on the outside of it.

Within a couple of minutes, Stevie comes out, looking basically the same as the last time Kurt had seen him, except of course, he wasn't carrying a hunting rifle and glancing worriedly at Sam. After the little boy grabs the radio and steps back inside, pushing Stacey back in, Sam sighs heavily and goes to get the other radio from Sebastian. Closing the door as quietly as he can, Sam nods toward the glove compartment.

"If we need to talk to Dave's group, use that. The girls are getting out the machetes, Finn you should too. If any zombies come, we need to get out, quietly, and kill them. We can't stay here but there's shit my dad has that we'll need to take. Hopefully one of the neighbors has a trailer we can hitch for extra room, we aren't going that far."

He's barely finished speaking when the walkie talkie chirps. "Sam?"

"Stevie! Are you guys okay? You looked okay, but I've been freaking out, buddy."

"We're alright. We still have plenty of water and stuff. You're sure it'll only take a half hour to be sure?"

Sam smiles. Well at least **someone** gets it. "It takes less than an hour, no matter what, to turn. After half an hour, you can't fight the symptoms anymore. It makes you scratch and have trouble breathing, stuff like that. You'd be able to tell if we were infected after about 20 minutes, if you knew what to look for. After half an hour, there's no hiding it."

After a few seconds, Stevie admits, "I guess I have to take your word for it, Mom took the laptop to work."

Sam smiles sadly. The cute little brother he'd left two weekends ago was gone. He sounded more grown up than half the men he'd brought with him. "Hey, Stevie, you have any idea if anyone around here has a trailer we could get? We're pretty loaded up already and with you guys coming too, we'll need even more space."

While Stevie thinks about it, Finn points out, "Actually, me and you could hold them on our laps. The seat belt would probably stretch around us if we didn't move too much. And you said it's not far."

Sam opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by Stevie saying, "Stacey said there's one down on Courtney Court, at least I think that's the street she means. She said it had a name like one of her friends and was on our bus route. The first house."

"Okay, well, once the half hour is up, you'll have to come with us, so we don't have to wait again, and we'll go find one. We aren't staying long. Anything you guys want to take, pack up now. And you're kids, feel free to take some toys, guys. Just nothing that requires batteries."

Kurt smiles at him before reaching out and taking Puck's hand. The next half an hour passes in what Kurt is quickly considering normal fashion. Lots of quiet, occasional jokes, random comments, and sporadic zombie killings.

Eventually Sam shrugs. "Okay, it's been half an hour, let's go." As they step out, Sebastian opens his door.

"Everybody going in?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, we need to prove we aren't infected and stretch our legs."

Walking up to the door, Sam knocks quietly. It opens a crack, Stevie watching out the door for a few seconds, noticing that everyone is only stretching a little or standing mostly still, most smiling at him. Eventually he stands back and opens the door.

As soon as everyone's inside, he shuts and locks it again before turning to throw himself on Sam, who had already been attacked by his sister.

The little boy's tough act finally breaks as he clutches to Sam's back, trying not to cry and clinging to him. "It's okay, guys. I got ya. You're not gonna be left alone again. We're gonna pack up the house and then head out before it gets too late. We're gonna head for Uncle James's house."

Deciding to give Sam a few minutes alone, Kurt turns to everyone else. "We should uh... pack up what we can to save time. Just... don't do their parents' room. Leave that for Sam if he wants to do it."

As they spread out, Kurt and Puck go to the kitchen to pull out cans and boxes. It's only when he hears the refrigerator hum that he realizes. "They have power!"

Puck turns to him questioningly but hears the hum and turns to face it. Opening the fridge shows that everything is still cold and nothing smells. "Well shit, I don't think it ever went down. Do they have a generator or something?"

"We have one, but Stevie doesn't know how to operate it." Turning to the smaller boy, Sam asks, "Did the power go out at all?"

Shaking his head, still wiping his cheeks, Stevie answers, "Nope. You told us it probably would days ago, so we kept waiting, but it never did. We ran the little air conditioner in our room on quiet mode, so we didn't burn up."

Sam grunts. "Well, now I feel stupid. The only place we've stopped since we hit Kentucky was that garage. We didn't even check to see if the pumps worked."

Laughing Kurt says, "Oh, I really hope the power holds out a few more days at least. I need a shower."

Puck frowns. "Why does it work here but not in Ohio?"

Sam shrugs, "Maybe somebody that worked for the power company decided that if he had to hole up somewhere, it might as well be there? I'm sure the security there would keep out zombies better than the average house. If he didn't have weapons, he may have just decided not to fight his way out. Here's hoping he doesn't die in a supply run."

Stevie turns to him, "Well, they were working on evacuation plans when I turned the tv off. They were trying to clear out the major cities before they got wrecked. At least the ones in the north. Louisville, Frankfort, Lexington, etc. Somehow it hit Florence before it hit them."

Grimacing, Kurt mumbles, "I bet they had a flight come in from New York. Is there an airport there?"

"Yeah, that's probably it. Damn." Sam scratches his head. "Okay, well at least we know. Now we need to get ready to go. Where is everyone?"

Puck points to the food they're pulling out. "We went ahead and started packing up what we thought you'd want. Everywhere but your parents' room, if you want to do that one."

Nodding sadly, Sam turns to Stevie. "Hunt down Stacey, she's probably found Sarah by now, you guys can finish up in your room." After he runs off, Sam smiles sadly at Kurt and Puck and then walks down a short hallway to his parents' room.

Kurt sighs and Puck kisses him on the temple again before going back to the cabinets. Kurt opens the fridge to see if they have anything worth taking. While pulling meat from the freezer, Kurt sighs.

_I'm glad this is the last house we'll have to go through with someone in tears. I guess that's why they don't show these parts in the zombie movies. Who wants to see kids crying over their parents?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no actual knowledge of how to hookup/run an RV, so I'm going to pretend that Sam does and did it off camera. Let's assume the place they're at has all the appropriate hookups needed, k? =D Oh, that's stupid and unrealistic, esp for a zombie apocalypse? Shhh! They'll hear you.

It had taken over two hours to pack up the house, gather everything in the kitchen, go find the trailer, hitch it and bring it back, and then load it. By the time they finish it's almost 2 in the afternoon and everyone is starving. Since Kurt had found hamburger meat he volunteers to cook while the rest of them load the trailer now hitched to the nav.

At first Kurt had balked at being the one to be weighted down but he'd relented when Puck had pointed out that it made Dave lead car, and that he'd need to get used to being the encumbered one.

When they finally finish loading up the trailer, they come back into the house to see Kurt laying out five pounds of taco meat and all the toppings. They stuff themselves before Sam makes one last sweep of the house, garage, and outbuilding.

He had been right that his dad had things they'd have never known to get. He had a small chainsaw, a Sawzall, a compass and binoculars, axes, folding camping shovels, a collection of Gerber tools, two Survival Seed Vaults, fishing gear, water decontaminating tablets, and five Lifestraws, among other stuff Kurt hadn't taken notice of as Sam gathered it all up.

They'd also gotten two more hunting rifles, and three handguns. Another .32, a Glock, and a Beretta, both 9mm. There were also holsters and more ammo than Kurt had ever seen, mostly for the 9s. Before they left, Sam had laid all nine pistols out on the table before deciding for good who got which ones.

He took his dad's Beretta and gave his mom's Glock to Santana, since she was their best girl shooter and she was tough enough to handle it. Kurt got Burt's Smith and Wesson M&P Compact. Britt got Burt's .32 since it was small enough to put in a pocket. Sebastian, who'd turned out to be one of their best shooters, was given the .45 while Travis took the Sig Sauer 9mm they'd gotten at Kohn's. Dave took the other .32 because it was either him or Finn and the taller boy had still refused to take a handgun.

Finn had settled for the shotgun Dave had brought for his back up. Stevie took the laser-sighted .380. It was his job to keep it on him at all times so he could protect himself, Stacey, and Sarah if they got separated. Puck, of course, kept his Desert Eagle. Even though they'd still yet to find any extra ammo for it. After everyone had exchanged and strapped on their holsters, Sam had declared it time to go truck shopping.

As they all pile back into the trucks, Stacey settles on Sam's lap and Stevie sits somewhat nervously on Finn's. After they pull onto the main road, Sam is hit with a barrage of questions about what's happened so far and where they're headed next. Kurt smiles at Puck, and Puck takes his hand again.

They take 16 south again, headed through Walton. Since they don't need to stop and there's nothing much there, it goes fairly smooth. It's not until they pass the shopping center that Kurt starts to get worried.

Glancing over at it he asks Sam, "Oh god. What if they hear the trucks? Didn't you say we're going just past the interstate?"

"Yeah, don't worry though. I don't see any outside. If they're in buildings they probably won't hear us. We'll just stay really quiet for awhile when we get there."

Staring straight ahead at Dave's tailgate, Kurt just hopes he's right and follows. When they pass a truck stop Kurt looks back at Sam wondering if this is where they're supposed to stop. Shaking his head, Sam pulls out the walkie talkie and says,

"It's like two places up. It says travel something or other, I don't remember. But according to Google Maps it had tons of RVs and campers, and a fence all the way around it. And lots of empty lot space to park the truck when we pick one."

Going up the hill, Sam eventually calls out, "Up there! The one just past the damn truck wash thing. Let's hope they have power too so we can control the fence."

Once they're all safely inside, Sam shifts Stacey off his lap enough to slip out from under her and runs out to close the gate. The stupid thing clangs louder than Kurt likes but he knows it's necessary. After it's closed, Sam reaches over the backseat to grab a machete, eases his door closed, and then takes off walking toward the building.

Kurt just shrugs at Puck. "I guess we stay here?"

It only takes a few minutes for Sam to press his face to the window and then go inside, obviously clearing the building. He comes out, his clothes and knife clean, and waves them around back. Parking close to the building, next to Dave, Kurt finally turns the nav off. When they all start opening doors, Sam shushes them.

"Okay, everyone head inside the building, as quietly as you can. Take your guns and the machetes, and then find a place in the break room to sit quietly for an hour or so."

Kurt grabs his laptop bag and follows everyone inside. Once they're all inside, he pulls Sam aside. "How quiet do we have to be? Can we sit quietly and watch a movie or would that be too much noise?"

Sam shakes his head, "Nah, that should be fine. The break room had the a/c going this whole time, that's why I picked it. That and it has no windows that lead outside. As long as it isn't loud enough that the air won't cover it, we're fine."

Nodding, Kurt turns to look at the three kids, "Okay, answer quietly, would you rather watch Rise of the Guardians or Wreck-It Ralph?"

Bouncing a little, Stacey says "Guardians! Jack is cute!"

Chuckling, Kurt agrees, "Yes he is, he's also kind of awesome." Stevie just shrugs and Sarah admits,

"I've only seen Wreck-It Ralph, so that's fine."

Kurt sets his laptop up on the coffee table in front of the couch and pulls up the movie he'd downloaded while at Seb's house. Once the kids are all settled on the floor nearby so they can hear it over the a/c, the others start getting comfortable around the room too. The couch is quickly occupied by Finn, Travis, and Brittany, with Santana leaning back against her, sitting between her legs. Dave and Sebastian sit in the corner under the a/c so they can talk quietly to each other and Sam takes a small, uncomfortable chair, not that he stays in it long. Every few minutes he gets up to go look out the windows carefully, looking for zombie followers.

Puck flops in an armchair and pulls Kurt down on his lap. Kurt smiles at him before readjusting his guns so they aren't poking into the taller boy. He mutters, "The last thing we need is for you to get shot because you got handsy or something."

Snorting, Puck leans forward and nuzzles his neck slightly. Kurt had all but forgotten Travis's stupid crush until he notices that the boy is pouting in their direction. Kurt sighs in exasperation. Puck, noticing the annoyance just puts his hand on Kurt's ass and grins at the kid.

Huffing, Travis sinks down on the couch and goes back to the movie. Kurt smacks Puck. "God, Noah. Don't make it worse."

Chuckling, Puck bites his neck lightly. "Don't worry about it princess, he's 14. Do you remember how quickly you got over crushes at that age?"

Giggling, Kurt whispers, "Yep. When I was 15 I had the biggest crush on this guy. I thought he was just the hottest man alive. I used to watch him making out with girls in the hallway and wish he'd kiss me like that. Then one day..." Kurt trails off, moving closer like he's going to kiss Puck before continuing, "He threw me in the dumpster. So I started liking his friend instead."

When Kurt backs off without kissing him, Puck growls lowly before pulling his face back in and pressing his lips firmly to Kurt's. When they part Puck mutters, "You know I'm sorry about that, babe. I wish I could go back in time and point out how awesome you are. He could have saved us all some heartbreak and trauma if he'd won you back from that friend of his."

Kurt huffs. "Yeah, yeah. Well, it doesn't matter. That friend of his turned into family of mine and the guy got over himself eventually, so I have no regrets."

Smirking, Puck nips at his ear. "Good to know, princess."

* * *

Once the movie is done, Sam walks back over. "Okay, I've seen a few, at one point there was about ten out there. But, they didn't see or smell anything so they got bored or something and went away. We should head out and get everything in place. I want to be really familiar with everything before dark."

Once they all stand up, Kurt offers, "I can start up Wreck-It Ralph and the kids can just stay in here."

Sam nods, "Good idea." Turning to Stevie he says, "Make sure you keep an ear out, keep your gun handy. Sarah, keep the .22 on the table. If something happens you keep hold of Stacey and Stevie will get you out, okay?"

Once they get nods from all three kids, Sam ruffles all their hair before heading outside. Kurt stops to kiss all three on the head. "Be careful guys. Lock the door behind us, but be ready to move if we have to."

Stepping out the back door again, Kurt looks around at everyone as they pull their rifles back out and check their holsters. Sam points to Dave's truck. "First thing we need to do is unload most of our supplies. We'll need the truck to haul the camper around back and we can all ride in the back."

It takes a surprisingly short time to load most of the things in the back of the truck into the open section of the garage, still trying to be as quiet as possible.

Once they're done, Sam says, "Okay, I want to get this over with as soon as possible, so we're going to split into two teams. One is going to look for a camper. The other, an RV. Plenty of both are parked around front, but we'll have to move fast. Most RVs have one bedroom, a sleeper couch, and a dinette that turns into a bed. A camper will have the same plus a bunk area. The most important thing is for the camper to have two doors that lead outside so that we can connect them. Just find something that fits that criteria and we'll sort out the beds and shit later."

Sam forms his group of Dave, Sebastian, Travis, and Finn. The second group is Kurt, Puck, Santana, and Brittany. Kurt's group is assigned the RV. Sam had explained that bigger didn't necessarily mean better since with RVs they liked to include tv areas in most of them; that it would probably be best to look at short ones for what they need.

Dave and Finn hop in the cab of the truck, the rest of them piling in the back, leaving the tailgate down so they can hop out easily. As Dave pulls around to the front, Kurt looks for any sign of zombies, either inside or outside the fence. He only sees one and it had stumbled off down the road quite a bit. _Good. Hopefully we can get these pulled around before they actually get here._

Kurt and Santana lead the way inside, everyone using their handguns instead of rifles because of the close quarters. It takes them until the sixth camper before they can agree on it. The others had either had tiny bathrooms that Finn and Dave couldn't use or been full of things like recliners and -like Sam had warned- tv areas. Finally they find one that has a jackknife couch, a bench-seat dinette, a bedroom, and an extra bunk over of the captain's chairs that actually looks long enough for Finn.

Once they're settled on it, they split up to look for the keys. It's Brittany that finds them hidden in the kitchen under the sink covers. Kurt, realizing he might be the best chance at driving it, takes the keys.

"Um... should we just move it? He didn't really say either way."

Santana shrugs, "Might as well, Porcelain. We already made noise pulling the truck around and they're probably not being too quiet getting the camper hooked up."

As the girls settle on the couch, Kurt and Puck sit in the driver's seats, looking around as much as they can. Still no signs of zombies, even the one from before had disappeared. Kurt takes a few seconds to familiarize himself with the controls and is relieved to find it's not much different from a regular truck. Pulling around the back, he wonders if he was supposed to set it up or wait for Sam. He makes sure to pull just far enough forward to not be visible from the road and then parks it, but doesn't turn it off.

"Now what?" The only only response is various shrugs. Sighing heavily, Kurt leans forward in his seat, trying to see around the building. Within a few minutes, Dave pulls his truck up, hauling a **huge** camper. Santana pokes her head out the door to hiss at Sam when the truck stops.

"Took you long enough, trouty. What they hell are we supposed to be doing now?"

Sam grins at her. "Nah, that's good. Just wait, once we get the camper set up and leveled, Kurt can pull in as close as he can from that side. It'll be a tight fit, but we found one that had two doors."

It takes a lot of trial and error before they manage to get them close enough together that even a kid zombie -as disturbing as the thought is- couldn't fit between them. They later found out Sam had Stevie try, just to test the theory but he'd waited until everyone else was busy grabbing their stuff.

After it's leveled and all the engines are cut, Sam has everyone pile inside through the only door that was still accessible. Since it banged against the nose of the RV, the door didn't open all the way, but it went almost the full 90 degrees, so even Dave had no problem getting through it. Once everyone else piles inside, Sam pokes his head in.

"I'm gonna go check on the kids and let them finish their movie. So, we'll be out in a bit. I want to give the zombies I'm sure are out front some time to lose interest."

When they're left alone, everyone spreads out to look through their temporary home. Since Sam had explained about the couches and dinettes, Finn and Travis converted them so they see how big each bed would be.

Kurt decided to work from room to room, coming through the 'only door'. It opened on a tiny hallway with a half bath to the left and two bunks just in front of the door. Turning out through a door on the right lead into the kitchen, the dinette on the left and the counters on the right. Just past the dinette was the couch that had been pulled out into a bed. Next was a small hallway with storage on the left and the full bath on the right. Kurt's actually impressed by the size of the shower, as it's a corner shower it's bigger than his at home had been. The only room left is at the end, the bedroom. It surprisingly has a king sized bed and plenty of storage.

_Okay, so if Sam lived in a camper like_ _**this** _ _, maybe I could amend my statement. How much do these damn things_ _**cost** _ _?_

Stepping into the RV from between the kitchen and bathroom, Kurt is a little disoriented at first. He'd gone through it before, but going from one camper to another is a bit weird.

When the couch and dinette were both made into beds they look much bigger than he'd thought. The dinette is immediately to the right with the couch almost directly across from it. Behind them are the driver's seats, Finn already stretching out in the bunk overhead. Kurt is smug to see there's even a few inches of space to spare. He turns around and walks toward the other end, past the tiny kitchen -they'll definitely be using the other camper's- and into the hallway. The toilet is on the left with the sink, the shower/tub combo on the right.

_I suppose having them separate will be helpful if we actually get a chance to use everything._

The last room is the bedroom. This one with just a queen sized bed, but it had much more room around it.

Coming out of the back, Kurt finds Puck sitting on the restored couch and sits next to him, leaning against his side. As Puck's arm comes down over his shoulder, the rest of the group slowly trickles in. Travis takes a second to convert the dinette back into it's booths before sitting on the side in front of Kurt.

"So... you guys are together now?"

Puck scoffs but Kurt just pinches him before answering. "Yes, we are."

Watching him carefully, Travis asks, "But how serious are you? Have you guys even fu-" He's interrupted by a smack on the head as Santana walks by him before sitting in the booth across from him, Brittany scooting in next to her. When Sebastian walks through the door, she points at him.

"Hey, Chip! You need to get a handle on Dale here. If he makes Hummel start shrieking, I won't be held accountable for my actions."

Sighing heavily Sebastian turns to Kurt. "Let me guess, the idiot asked if you guys have fucked or something."

Travis pipes in with, "Not **yet** , she cut me o-" This time it's Sebastian that smacks him.

"At least deny it, you amateur. Stop hitting on guys that are out of your league any fucking way. I only said you could have him because I thought he didn't have options. You really think he's gonna dump tall, hot and tan for you?" Shaking his head sadly, he goes to sit in the driver's seat, turning it to face everyone. Dave had already walked past them to do the same in the copilot's chair, not getting involved. _Lucky bastard._

Finn snorts from his bunk. "Seriously, not happening. Not only are you only a kid, you look **exactly** like Sebastian. I don't think Kurt could touch you without being physically ill."

Puck grins and Kurt just points at Finn, looking at Travis. "That! See, **he** gets it."

"Like it was hard to figure out?" Sam comes in, leading the kids. "I locked the door behind me so we could work out sleeping arrangements. We'll go truck shopping tomorrow afternoon. If you think you've got a good handle on it, we can load up and head out first thing the next morning. If not, we'll wait a day or two. No hurry now that we're all together."

Sarah climbs on Kurt's lap, shortly followed by Stacey climbing onto Puck's. She smiles shyly at him and he just ruffles her hair.

Turning to Kurt she says, "You're really pretty. Like a girl. Most boys aren't pretty."

When he hears a smack from Dave and Sebastian's direction and a hissed 'Don't!' from Dave, Kurt smiles at her, "Thank you, sweetie."

When Finn notices Stevie looking around at everyone warily, he reaches an arm down to the little boy and pulls him up into the bunk with him. Relieved, Stevie sits on the edge, folding his legs under him and watching Sam.

Clapping his hands, Sam asks, "Alright, anyone have dibs on anything already?"

Finn calls out, "Me! Dibs on this. It's long enough that I can stretch out."

Nodding, Sam says, "Good idea, it's not one of the biggest places to sleep and you're definitely the tallest. Speaking of, I guess Sebastian and Dave should have next dibs, since they're next tallest."

Sebastian smirks. "We'll want the king size bed. But don't worry, we'll share. Right, Pookie?"

Dave glares at him, trying to hide his blush. Without responding, he reaches over and smacks him again.

Laughing, Sam nods again. "Anyone else?"

Brittany shrugs. "I don't care, as long as I'm with San."

Sam smiles at her. "You guys are small, you could curl up almost anywhere."

Eventually they settle with Finn keeping his spot, Sam taking the couch, Sarah getting the dinette and Puck and Kurt getting the bedroom in the RV. Everyone else would be in the camper. Seb and Dave in the bed, Santana and Britt on the couch, Travis on the dinette, and Stevie and Stacey on the bunks. All in all, it could be much more cramped considering how many people they had.

With spaces assigned, everyone goes out to grab their bags and some of the food before deciding what was for dinner.

They'd left the meat cooler in the break room, since the a/c was still going but unloaded what was left of the smaller cooler's contents into the camper's refrigerator. Knowing that the last loaf of bread they had wouldn't last too much longer, Sam peels potatoes to make home fries to go with sandwiches.

* * *

Once dinner is done, everyone splits up to shower and get ready for bed. It was Dave and Sebastian's night off again, which mean Kurt and Puck were on last shift.

When Kurt steps out of the shower, he calls out to the rest of the RV, separated by a door but with a gap at the top and bottom, "Hot water is now officially gone. Sorry guys!"

The general consensus is that it had lasted longer than it should have so no one seems put out. Kurt is still rubbing a towel over his head when he notices that the sliding door between the bathroom and the bedroom had come open a bit. Since he could see Puck, he assumed Puck could see him.

Blushing brightly, Kurt readjusts his towel before sliding the door open and calling out, "Um, I'm done with the bathroom, guys."

He slides the door shut and huffs at Puck. "Were you seriously perving on me while I showered?"

Waving his hands while smirking, Puck replies, "No! Not at all... just while you were drying off. I mean I would have, but I couldn't see the shower."

Kurt blushes again but steps closer and sits on the edge of the bed. "So... you said last night that you'd save molesting me for when we were awake..."

Puck raises an eyebrow and leans forward to put a hand on Kurt's hip, turning to face him on the bed. "Are you sure you're ready for that, babe?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Kurt mumbles, "Well, not to go all the way, our siblings are out there..."

Grinning, Puck moves closer again, boxing Kurt in with his arms and laying over him, pressing the smaller boy down to the bed. Kurt gulps audibly as Puck moves in to kiss him, threading his fingers into still wet hair. Grabbing the sides of Puck's sleep shirt, Kurt bites his lip gently and slides his leg up between the taller boy's to rub his thigh against Puck's dick.

Sucking in a breath again, Puck cuts off a groan. "God, babe. I've been hard since you said you were going to take a shower. Just knowing that you were right there, less than five feet from me, all wet and naked..."

Kurt giggles, remembering his own lack of control a couple days before. "Well, you handled it better than I did. Two nights ago when you left to shower, the door was barely closed before my hand went down my pants. I got off so quickly it was embarrassing. Knowing you were naked so close by... Remembering the way you touched me... Wondering what it would be like to feel your cock against me without the clothes... I just couldn't handle it."

Groaning quietly, Puck kisses him again quickly, before asking, "Fuck, so you did jack off after I left?" At Kurt's shy nod, Puck grins. "I wondered, especially after I knew you **were** awake."

Without saying anything else, Puck slides off Kurt and turns him on his side by the hip. When he's facing forward, Kurt turns to look over his shoulder. Puck pulls off his shirt, leaving himself in just jersey shorts, before laying back down behind Kurt.

Pressing close to him, the tanned boy runs his hands up Kurt's side and around to the front of his chest, collecting a few water droplets from his skin as he goes. Pinching Kurt's nipple, he thrusts his hips shallowly against his ass, just like he had before.

Kurt whines quietly and reaches a hand back to grip Puck's hair as he rubs his ass back against him. After a few more thrusts, Kurt reaches down to pull at the side of the shorts that he can reach. Puck takes the hint and helps pull them down, kissing the back of Kurt's neck.

Once he's kicked them off to the foot of the bed, Puck wraps his arms back around Kurt, one arm being crushed slightly by the smaller boy. He presses against him again, this time only a thin towel keeping them from touching. When Puck's hands feel out every dip and dent in his torso, Kurt bites his cheek to keep from whimpering.

Less than a minute later, Kurt already needs more contact and reaches down to undo the towel. Leaving it open, he takes Puck's hands and slides them down his own stomach toward his waist. Groaning softly in his ear, Puck bites and sucks at Kurt's neck as he moves his hands down to pull the last defense away.

Deciding to tease him a bit, Puck pushes flush against him but doesn't move, instead just running his hands all over Kurt's thighs and hips, everywhere but where he most wants them. Soon, Kurt whines at him, "Noooah. Come on!"

Smirking into his neck, Puck moves his hands in like he's going to grab Kurt's cock but with barely a brush against it, he slides his hands backward, holding his waist from behind. Puck pulls back a bit and takes a minute to just stare at the ass that he'd been thinking about for months. Carefully listening for any indication from Kurt to stop, Puck moves his hands down to grope at the globes of the small, perfect ass.

When he moves close enough to rub just the head of his dick along the crease, Kurt gasps out, "Oh god..."

Puck grins, moving closer and sliding his whole cock along Kurt's ass, squeezing his cheeks and pushing them together so he can thrust between them. As Kurt moves to meet his thrusts, Puck pulls back a little too far and the head of his cock catches on Kurt's rim before sliding the rest of the way up.

Kurt sucks in a breath before moaning quietly. "Jesus Noah, do that again!" When the taller boy pulls back and pushes against his rim again, Kurt pushes his face into his pillow, groaning. After a few thrusts Kurt manages to recover enough to push back against him when Puck pushes forward.

Groaning louder than he should, Puck leans back enough to wrap his hand around his cock, putting the head against Kurt's entrance and pushing against it slightly. As he slides his hand up and down his dick, rubbing the head on Kurt's entrance, the smaller boy wiggles back against him.

Clenching one hand on Kurt's ass and the other around his dick, moving quickly, Puck pants out "Fuck, I'm c-close."

Tangling a hand into the short curly hair at the back of Puck's head, Kurt pushes back against him again -almost too hard for just teasing- and groans out, "Come for me, Noah."

Leaning forward to bury his face in Kurt's neck, Puck moans into his skin as he comes. After waiting for the sensations to die out, Puck pulls back to look down and sees that he'd come all over Kurt, from the top of his ass all the way down to his balls. Tracing his finger along Kurt's crease and smearing his come over him, Puck darts forward over Kurt's shoulder to kiss him again.

As he pulls away he gasps against his lips, "Fuck, Kurt. That was so fucking hot." Looking down at Kurt's still hard dick, Puck asks, "Can I blow you?"

Sucking in a quick breath, Kurt answers, "Jesus fucking Christ, yes please." Before he can roll over onto his back though, Puck takes the towel that's still under Kurt and uses it to wipe off his ass, possibly spending a bit longer than was strictly necessary rubbing at Kurt's entrance. When Kurt lays back, Puck is slightly stunned by the intense gaze aimed at him.

After leaning forward to kiss him deeply, Puck kisses and licks his way down Kurt's body. He has to fight the urge to tease Kurt anymore; it wouldn't really be fair and the last thing he wants is to piss him off right now. Puck runs his hand firmly up and down Kurt's cock before wrapping his lips around the head and sinking down as far as he can.

Puck had never given head before, of course, but he knows what he likes so he tries it on Kurt. Once he manages a rhythm of him bobbing his head as much as he can and rolling Kurt's balls in his hand, Puck can feel Kurt tensing like he's about to come. Quickly sliding his other hand back under Kurt and rubbing two fingers against his entrance again pushes him over the edge.

Choking slightly on the sudden release, Puck swallows as much as he can and licks Kurt clean. Sagging back against the bed like a rag doll, Puck chuckles and wipes his mouth with a corner of the towel before sliding it out from under Kurt and throwing it in the corner.

Leaning up to kiss him again, Puck grins at Kurt's boneless sprawl. Laying on his stomach, Puck puts his head on Kurt's shoulder and murmurs quietly,

"You don't think anyone heard that, do you?"


	12. Chapter 12

As luck would have it, no one heard them. _Well, no one said anything. And with this group, that pretty much guarantees that no one heard us._

When the alarm goes off to wake them up for their shift, Kurt whines while snuggling into Puck's chest. "I miss sleeping til whenever the hell I wanted. And I thought school was bad. We just graduated, dammit!"

Chuckling, Puck slips his arms around Kurt and presses a kiss to the side of his neck. "It could be worse. We could be waking up alone. Or be on middle shift."

Kurt shudders. "I don't know how the girls aren't losing their shit; waking up in the middle of the night, almost every night."

Puck considers that for a second. "Well... it's Brittany and Santana... if they lost it, would we notice? Santana would be a bitch, and Brittany would go crazy..."

Grumbling, Kurt says, "Point." and stretches. "I guess we should get out of bed... if only I had the will to move."

Puck grins and looks down at Kurt, spread out on the bed and closing his eyes again. Deciding that they'd had enough peace and Kurt could use the help waking up, Puck leans in while the smaller boy's eyes are closed and tickles him under his ribs. He'd expected the shriek and flailing but he wasn't prepared for the elbow to the neck.

Yelping and falling off the bed, Puck groans while holding his hand over the throbbing soon-to-be bruise. When he can breath again, he glares up at Kurt who's laughing at him from over the edge of the bed.

At a light tap on the door, Kurt sits up, rearranging the blanket over his hips to hide the fact that he was only wearing underwear.

"Um.. come in?"

Brittany pokes her head in the door. "Santana said 'stop playing grab ass and get your asses out here'. Also, we could hear that thump and scream from outside the camper, so you guys should be more careful."

Blushing, Kurt waves her out. "Thanks Britt! We'll get changed and be there in a minute."

Once the door is closed, Kurt hits Puck over the head with his pillow. "See what you did, idiot? You almost got us all killed."

Grinning, Puck gets up and puts his clothes on. He'd slept naked, which was why Kurt had gotten up to get underwear. He'd been convinced that they shouldn't curl up together without any barriers if they wanted to actually **sleep**. He wasn't wrong.

"I'm not the one going around elbowing people in the neck, babe."

Kurt huffs. "So it was like 2% my fault, the other 98% was yours."

Shrugging, Puck sits to pull on his boots. "Okay, sure. But you also have to keep in mind that just because they heard us right outside, doesn't mean I almost got us killed. Even if something had heard us, they'd have to get through the fence without Santana noticing. Not likely, as it's completely silent out there. If something **breathed** on that fence, it would sound like a gunshot to them. Now stop stalling and get your sexy ass out of bed."

Kurt groans and throws the blanket off. "Fine, fine. Go find Pop Tarts or something, I'll be right out."

After leaning in for one more quick kiss, Puck slips his guns on and heads out the door.

* * *

Just before noon Sam, Kurt, Puck, Santana, and Brittany all load up in the navigator -after unhooking the trailer- and head out to look for a truck. Finn, Dave, Sebastian, and Travis stayed behind with the kids.

There was already some box trailers in the parking lot and they'd found one that had vents installed in the front and back which made Sam happy. It was a little beat up, but at least if they were forced to stay in it, they wouldn't die... probably.

After breakfast they'd loaded what supplies they'd brought from their houses into the trailer. They'd also gone through more of the RVs and campers from around the lot. Finn had found a fairly big chair that reclined and he'd put it outside the door to the camper. Apparently he hadn't appreciated having no where to sit while on watch the night before.

While everyone else had hauled and loaded all their stuff -and dragged two king size mattresses into the trailer- Kurt had gone through the RVs and ripped out any CB radios he could find. He'd also taken the time to install one in the nav so that they wouldn't have to run down the walkie talkies. When he'd gone to check on everyone else's progress he'd been impressed. Everything had fit with plenty of room to load up more stuff when they got to the, dear fucking god, shopping center.

As Kurt pulls down the road toward the truck stop, the rest of the group looks around, trying to determine if it was safe. After a few seconds Santana huffs.

"Okay, what the hell is with this place? There are stores and shit just over the road, shouldn't there be like, a LOT more zombies than the 15 or so we've seen since we got here?"

Sam shrugs but also looks uneasy. "It **is**  day six. Maybe they just kept migrating up or down I-75. There's plenty of cars left on the roads to have kept them fed, they wouldn't have needed to come back."

"Let's hope they stick with that plan and keep right on going." Kurt pulls into Flying J and looks around. Parking near the largest group of trucks they see, Kurt gets out, swinging his rifle to the front. As they approach the nearest truck, they stop and wait for a few seconds outside of it. Hearing nothing, they shrug and split up.

Kurt, Puck and Brittany take one side of the truck, Sam and Santana taking the other. Opening the doors at the same time, they all tense up, waiting on an attack. None comes. As they all climb inside they note the small bed shoved in the back and the numerous cubbies around the cab. Sam undoes a latch that drops a second bunk down. Despite it looking very thin and flimsy, when Puck climbs up the folding ladder, he bounces on it slightly and there's no give at all.

After looking around and finding a mini fridge and microwave, even a coffee pot, they decide to keep looking. The next few trucks they go through are surprisingly similar. In the fourth truck they're attacked by not just one, but two zombies. After they kill them they make the executive decision to skip that truck. _If dead people have been in there for days... no amount of extra leg room was worth the smell._

As they approach the fifth truck, Kurt notes that it looks really new. _Probably a new model. Let's hope it has some updated stuff, maybe make it easier to drive._

As soon as they step into the cab, Kurt knows it's the one he wants. There seems to be almost twice as much room to walk around as the other, smaller trucks. When he walks around the chairs he sees that the top bunk folds up instead of against the wall, and the bottom bunk is **huge**. Noticing that it also has a fridge and a microwave, Kurt nods.

"Definitely this one. At least three or four adults could sit on the bed, even with it moving. I'd really like the kids and at least one more shooter to stay in the cab, in case we run into trouble. I don't think zombies could bust in here, we could just wait for the nav to come bail us out, or whatever."

Sam walks up to the top bunk and looks over the side. "This one is almost as big as the bottom one, it's just folded in half." Flipping it down he turns to Kurt. "We could sleep four adults in here easily."

Puck considers the bunk for a second before flipping it back up. "Actually, if we keep it folded up, two of the kids or maybe even Travis could ride up there while it was moving. It's got seatbelts to hold cargo down."

Choice made, they split up again. Puck and Brittany stay in the cab and clean out all the storage spaces of anything they can't or won't use, tossing it out the window. Kurt, Sam, and Santana head outside to uncouple the trailer, since they had one with vents. They also dart back into a previous truck to grab their coffee maker, since the one they're taking didn't have one. Once everything is all cleared up, Sam and the girls get back in the nav, with Brittany driving. Kurt shifts uncomfortably while buckling in to the truck and Puck smiles at him.

"You got this, babe. It'll be fine."

Breathing deeply, Kurt starts the truck and pulls out of the lot. Kurt figures Sam must have radioed the group that stayed because when they pull up, Sebastian darts out from behind an RV parked near the gate to open it up for them. Kurt pulls straight into the back lot, Sam stopping behind him after he'd picked up Seb.

When he turns the engine off, Kurt jumps out to make more room for the guys that haven't seen inside yet. Dave comes almost right back out and comes to stand next to him.

Cocking an eyebrow at him, Kurt asks, "Bored already? I thought it was pretty cool."

Dave shrugs. "My uncle was a truck driver, so it's not as novel to me. It's really nice though. The bunks are huge."

Nodding, Kurt admits, "Yeah, that's why we picked that one. Two couples can sleep in there, not just one guy in each bed."

"Dibs on bottom bunk!" Dave grins at him.

Kurt huffs. "Well, I guess that puts me and Puck on top and you and Sebastian on bottom. Jesus. There's words I never thought I'd say." Hearing David laugh, Kurt looks around to make sure no one is close enough to hear them before whispering, "So... when Sebastian called you 'Pookie'... did you-"

Cutting him off, Dave hisses, "No! That was just Seb being an ass. We haven't... we aren't... nothing's changed."

Kurt eyes him a bit before whispering again, " **Something** has changed, or you wouldn't be freaking out." They're interrupted by Puck coming back over and wrapping an arm around Kurt's waist. Smiling at him, Kurt tells him, "We've been relegated to top bunk. Dave called dibs on bottom, so we're stuck with Sebastian too."

Puck winks, "Hey, I've already told you, I don't care who watches."

Kurt smacks him. "I also said that's too kinky for me."

"Actually, you said-" Kurt clamps a hand over Puck's mouth.

"Hush, Noah. Before you end up sleeping in the back of the truck. Or on top of it." Turning back to Dave, Kurt notices that he's smiling at them goofily. "What?"

"It's just nice to see you happy. Nice to see anyone happy at this point, but after all the shit we've gone through... it's just good to know it doesn't have to be all bad."

They're torn out of their own little world when everyone comes back out of the truck and joins them. Kurt shuffles his feet a bit. "Okay, well, I guess I should get ready to drive it around a bit. I'd like to leave in a day or two so I need to drive it as much as possible."

Sam nods. "Okay, you can take it out for awhile without the trailer, just get a feel for it. After a couple hours, when the zombies leave, you can come back and get it."

For his first trip out in the new truck they'd decided to have their biggest guys go, just to see if they could handle it and so they would have enough people to shoot their way out if they needed to. Kurt was driving, Sam had called shotgun, Dave, Sebastian, and Finn were on the bunk and Travis was riding up top. He'd claimed to not need a seatbelt when he first climbed up there, but it had only taken a small bump to have him strapping himself in. It was a long fall.

Kurt had pulled up to the gate and stopped, watching the crowd of about five zombies pile against the fence trying to reach them. Santana, armed with Sarah's .22 since it's their quietest gun, steps up to the fence and puts a bullet into each of the zombies' heads. They'd worried that such a small caliber wouldn't work, but it didn't seem to matter at all. Santana closes the gate after Kurt and heads back toward the campers.

The first excursion in their new truck is uneventful. They head south to scout the road a bit where they'll be headed and Kurt has very little trouble weaving around all the cars. Sam points out that it may not always be that easy, but that's why they have the nav. They can use it to push cars away or at least be able to warn them that it's too clogged and to go back and find a better way.

After almost two hours with only minor setbacks while practicing, Kurt told Sam he was ready to head back for the trailer. They were so wrapped up in talking about all the cool stuff in the truck that they forgot to radio the group to be ready to let them in. It's not until they're pulling up outside the closed gate -which is surrounded by nine zombies- that they remember. Worried about the truck being exposed, Kurt says,

"Should we get out and shoot them? I mean... they could get in or something right?"

By the time Puck, Santana, and Brittany come running around the building -carrying rifles and machetes- all of the zombies are clawing at the truck, trying to climb it.

Sam watches them for a few seconds before turning to Kurt. "They're really far down compared to us... try to run them over." At Kurt's wide eyes, Sam shrugs. "It's a good time to find out how this thing would handle being surrounded at a dead stop. We know that if it's already going, it'll mow them down. I want to know if it can handle doing it from park."

Sam uses the CB to tell Puck and the girls to fall back, that they want to try something. Puck had stared at the radio in his hand for almost a full minute before stepping backward, looking nervous.

Putting the truck back in gear, Kurt waits until the zombies have turned to face the gate, noticing their friends on the other side. Once most of them are in front of the truck, Kurt pulls forward, Santana opening the gate, and then running further inside out of the way.

Once the truck is clear of the fence, Puck, Santana, and Brittany use machetes to cut them down as quietly as they can. When they're parked out back and everyone piles out, Sam grins.

"That went really well. Didn't have a problem at all. Let's hope that'll stay true if there are more than ten."

Puck glares at him but doesn't say anything, walking up to Kurt he mumbles, "Are you okay? Don't do shit like that just to satisfy his curiosity. It took like five years off my life just seeing you in a surrounded truck."

Kurt leans up to kiss him before replying. "It's fine, hun. Clearly we weren't in danger. They couldn't get in, we had no trouble running them over, and once they were down, you guys had no problem cutting them up. Sorry we worried you though. But at least we know."

Puck grumbles, but lets it go. "So how did your run go?"

Sebastian, walking by them toward the camper says, "It was the 'B' word. Longest two hours of my life. Well, my new life."

After he walks off, Dave explains. "B word meaning 'boring'. We're not allowed to use it anymore, remember? But the test went fine. We all fit easily, it wasn't too crowded, even with three of us on the bunk." Turning to Sam he asks, "If that's all, I'm going to go hunt him back down and we're going to take a nap, since we're on first watch."

Sam nods before turning back to Kurt. "So, we'll hitch up the trailer and then you can take it out again."

Puck announces, "Fine, but I'm going too this time. If it's really that safe inside we should be okay with just the three of us, right?"

After considering for a few seconds, Sam shrugs. "Sure. As long as Finn or someone is on the radio while we're out. We'll take our handheld CB and the walkie talkie. And we just won't go far. The three of us should be fine."

* * *

And they were. It was, as Seb said, the 'B' word. They hitched up the trailer without issue, went north this time, and came back safely. It had only taken about an hour and a half before they were back and asking about dinner.

After they've eaten and the dishes are washed and put back up, Kurt hooks up his laptop and everyone settles in the camper to watch Mirror Mirror. Sam and Puck had dragged Finn's chair inside and Sam sat in it with his brother and sister on his lap. Everyone else piled onto the couch and dinette, converted into beds. The movie was silly, and at times cringe inducing in it's puns, but they needed something lighthearted after the last few days.

After it ends -and Santana stops bitching that she'll have that song stuck in her head for a week- they all split up for bed, Dave and Sebastian taking the chair back outside.

This time it's Puck who steps out of the shower to find Kurt perving on him. With a smirk, he calls out that they're done to Finn and Sam -since Kurt had taken his shower before Puck- and shuts their door. As he steps closer and leans down to kiss Kurt, he mumbles against his lips,

"See something you like there, babe?"

Smiling, Kurt runs his hands from Puck's shoulders down his chest to stop at his waist on the towel. "Mmm, I don't know, I think I need a closer look." When he goes to take the towel off though, Puck takes his hands and leans close to whisper,

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Your brother is still out there."

Kurt smirks. "Yeah, trust me, I really don't care anymore. Since Sarah decided to bunk with Stacey, there are no younger, impressionable minds to corrupt, so I think I'm good. Besides, we could fuck on the kitchen floor in front of Finn and it wouldn't do the damage that Finchel did to us for **years**."

Puck's laugh is cut off by Kurt's lips as he reaches up to kiss him and pulls Puck's towel off. However, instead of Kurt leaning forward to take advantage of his revealed boyfriend, he takes the towel and spreads it out on the bed. When he turns back, Puck is posing cockily and grinning at him.

"You just want me for my towel, don't you? I knew you were a neat freak, but damn-"

Once again interrupted by lips, Puck leans back to push Kurt against the bed, leaning over him again. Before he can climb on top of him though, Kurt shakes his head and wiggles out from under him. Once he's standing by the bed he points to the towel.

"Lay down."

Puck's eyebrows fly up at the implication but he doesn't say anything, just does what he's told. _Heh. Good to know._

Once he's settled, Kurt starts taking off his clothes, smirking at Puck who watches every tiny movement like it's the most amazing thing he's ever seen. Once Kurt is as naked as Puck, he ignores his raging blush and reaches into his bag to pull out lube and condoms. Not giving Puck time to make a comment, he climbs onto the bed and sits in Puck's lap.

Finally looking him back in the eye, Kurt is unsurprised to find Puck looking at the supplies questioningly. Clearing his throat a little, Kurt admits,

"I may have... uh, asked Dave for some of the stuff Seb said they'd liberated from the dollar store. He wasn't kidding, they have like hundreds of dollars worth of lube and condoms, filled almost an entire suitcase with it. Should be fun to explain if one of the kids opens it."

Puck laughs, rubbing one thumb against the inside of Kurt's thigh as he runs his hands up and down Kurt's legs. "Okay... so are you saying you're ready to-"

"Yep." Kurt doesn't even let him finish his sentence. "And I was smart enough to move so I could see you in the shower, so we need to get this moving. I've been hard for half an hour."

Chuckling softly Puck says, "No complaints here. So is this the position we're staying in or did you actually want to top?"

Kurt smiles before leaning down to kiss him. "No, I want to ride you. But while we're on the topic, does that mean you're willing to bottom?"

Puck looks at him like he's stupid. "Kurt, I've been half in love with you for like six months. I'd be fine with almost anything you wanted to do."

"Almost, huh?"

Shrugging, Puck answers, "Honestly the things I'm not willing to do, you'd never want to do either. You're weird, but you're not **that** weird." Kurt snorts and opens his mouth but Puck beats him to it. Pinching his ass, he says, "No. As hot as I find the bitchy snarkiness, do it when we're not naked. You said you wanted to fuck."

Grinning widely now, Kurt wiggles in punishment. Groaning, Puck moves his hands up from Kurt's thighs to grab his ass, pulling him down against his erection.

Taking a deep breath and trying to control himself, Kurt hisses out, "Stop that. If I don't get your dick in me soon, I'm going to explode." Kurt ignores Puck's groan and tosses him a condom. "Here, you can put that on while I prep myself."

Puck pouts but takes the condom. "Why don't I get to prep you?"

Kurt snorts. "Because we've met. You'd be perfectly happy teasing me until I was a whining pathetic mess, and frankly we don't have the time or privacy for that."

Kurt stretches himself as quickly as he can, almost forgoing the third finger entirely when he sees Puck laying under him, waiting, slowly jacking himself off as he watches Kurt. Only the thought of trying to run from zombies with a sore ass stops him from rushing it.

Once he's well stretched, he spreads lube onto Puck's cock and leans in to kiss him. As he positions himself over Puck, he asks, "Are **you** sure you want to do this? It's your first time with a guy."

Puck stares at him incredulously. After a few long seconds he bites out, "Kurt, babe... Are you kidding me? I can **not** stress just how badly I want you to sit on my dick right now."

Kurt snorts and presses his stretched hole against Puck's cock. "Right... forgot who I was talking to for a second." Before pushing himself down, Kurt can't help but giggle and let out a fake sappy sigh. "That was the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me."

Puck pinches his ass again, glaring. "Now is definitely not the time for your fucking sarcasm, babe. Hurry up and-" The rest of the sentence is lost to a low guttural groan as Kurt sinks down onto his cock.

Once he's fully impaled -and able to breath again- Kurt giggles. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't catch that. What?"

Puck would love to respond, because bitching with Kurt was one of his favorite things to do until 30 seconds ago, but he's not sure he'll ever be able to think straight again. Instead he just smacks Kurt's hip and hopes he takes the hint.

Biting his lip to contain his laughter, Kurt slowly pulls himself up before sliding back down. Once all the burn from the stretch has passed, Kurt leans forward to put his hands on Puck's shoulders, slowly sliding up and sinking down rhythmically. When it looks like Puck might have recovered enough to speak, Kurt decides that he's not real interested in snarking at the moment and speeds up.

As Kurt rolls his hips he notices that Puck was fighting the instinct to move with every fiber of his being. _Well, that's no fun._

Pulling off so that only the the head of Puck's cock is still inside him, Kurt leans down to suck on Puck's nipple ring and clenches down on his dick, sliding slowly down. Puck's restraint breaks and he bucks forward, his cock slamming all the way into Kurt as he meets his thrust.

Whining, Kurt continues to move against him, and pants out, "Jesus fuck... again. Noah, move! Fuck me already, Jesus."

Growling, Puck grabs Kurt by his ass and pushes him down as he thrusts into him as deep as he can. When Puck feels himself getting close he slides his fingers toward Kurt's crack, running them down to tease at the stretched skin around his dick.

Kurt moans, raising and lowering himself as fast as he can and rolling his hips. Puck moves one hand back around to the front to start working Kurt's dick quickly, the touch all Kurt had needed to come. As his pace becomes erratic and rhythmless, Kurt clenches on Puck again and scrapes his nails down Puck's chest. After just a few more thrusts, Puck comes into the condom, biting Kurt's shoulder to muffle his groan.

Kurt collapses in a graceless sprawl on Puck's chest and Puck laughs but makes no effort to move. Running his fingertips lightly up and down Kurt's back, he yawns widely. Hearing him, Kurt lifts his head enough to playfully scowl at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I boring you?"

Chuckling Puck smacks his ass lightly before grabbing him by the hips and slowly pulling him off of his soft and oversensitive dick. Kurt slips off him to lay on his side and Puck pulls the towel from under himself to clean them both up and wrap the condom in a tissue from the night stand. His search for a trashcan is interrupted by Kurt snorting.

"It's the end of the world hun. Just throw it in the corner."

Shrugging, he does. He then lays back down, pulling Kurt half on top of him. "So much for you being a neat freak. I guess you weren't just after me for my towel after all."

Giggling, Kurt nods to the crumpled, come covered white cloth that Kurt had thrown to the same corner. "Definitely not now." Letting out his own jaw-cracking yawn, Kurt mumbles, "Needing things clean went out the window when four people climbed into my bed wearing shoes that first night."

Puck leans in to nuzzle Kurt's neck, laughing softly. "God, that seems like so long ago. It's been less than a week though."

Kurt mumbles, "It hasn't actually been that bad, considering everyone died."

Shifting uncomfortably, Puck tries not to think about the people that may or may not be dead. The only way he's survived this whole thing is by hoping and praying that Beth had somehow made it. Instead he redirects back to the night they'd spent at Kurt's house.

"I was so excited that night." At Kurt's raised eyebrow, Puck explains, "I liked you, remember? And here I had a legitimate excuse to curl up in bed with you."

Kurt scoffs, "Sarah was between us, and I had Dave and Seb behind me."

Shrugging, Puck points out, "It was more than I had before. For months all I had was the memory of curling up with you when you were cold."

Kurt, fighting sleep, says, "Well, you were the preferred heater. You were warmer than Sam or Finn, for some reason."

Snorting, Puck grins at him. "I already knew I was hotter, babe. You're not telling me anything new."

Kurt smacks him before curling his fingers into Puck's hair. "Okay, tired now, shut up."

Laughing, Puck kisses him on the forehead and mumbles "Love you too, princess." into his hairline.

The only response he gets is a quiet snore, so low it could barely be heard even in the perfect stillness.


	13. Chapter 13

Kurt is still wrapped firmly around Puck, both still naked, when he suddenly jerks awake. Blinking blearily, he sees a huge, looming shape bent over him on the bed and let's out a shrill shriek, scrambling away from Puck to reach his gun on the nightstand.

Luckily before he can touch it, strong fingers wrap around his wrist and a familiar voice hisses "Kurt!" loud enough to stop him.

Taking a breath, Kurt flops back on the bed and squints at the human-esque shape in front of him. "Finn?" When all Finn does is reach over him to turn on the reading light Kurt glares at him and pulls the blanket up to cover both him and Puck. "What the fuck are you doing? You scared the shit out of me!"

Turning to make sure Puck had woken up too -like he could sleep through Kurt almost elbowing him in the nose- Finn hisses, "Get up, get dressed and pack your shit."

When he steps back, they sit up and Puck whispers, "What? What's going on?"

Finn walks toward the door. "We'll explain when you come out. Just keep the lights low and be as quiet, quick and thorough as you can. We have to leave."

Scrambling out of the bed quickly, Kurt steps into the pants and shoes he kept on his side of the bed, checking to make sure Puck was doing the same. Once they're both dressed, Kurt moves to his bag and throws it on the bed, loading it back up with everything from the multiple drawers and cubbies around the room. Puck grabs the 'supplies' and anything else he can find out of the nightstand and just throws it in his own bag. With one last look into all the empty spaces, they finally walk out, Kurt smoothing his hair while Puck carries their bags.

Kurt had noticed that it was still the middle of the night when he'd been packing and that they weren't even supposed to start their shift for another hour. As he walks through the RV, Kurt stops to check anywhere they might have left something they could use before moving into the camper.

As they settle on the couch, Kurt looks around and notices that the only people not done yet are Dave and Sebastian, everyone else already waiting. _Makes sense. Those of us with actual rooms probably unpacked more. Clearly everyone just had the drawers under their sleeping spaces or whatever._

They barely had a chance to sit down before Sarah and Stacey shuffled over and climbed into their laps. Kurt takes the opportunity to brush back Sarah's hair with his fingers, pulling half of it back into a hair tie he grabs from his bag. When he notices Stacey watching him he asks,

"Want me to do your hair too, sweetie?"

After a nod, Kurt kisses Sarah on the back of the head and looks to Puck. "Trade me." Both boys hold their arms out to the girls switch their positions. Kurt is french braiding Stacey's shoulder length, slightly curly, blonde hair into a pony tail when Sam comes back into the camper.

Seeing that they're still missing two, he walks back into the bedroom. They can't hear what he says but after a few seconds of angry whispering, all three boys come out and Sam turns to the group. "Okay, so you may have noticed, it's not quite 4am. Finn and I were on watch and we noticed some real low groans and some slight clanging. When I went to look around the side of the building there were about five zombies gathered there. Within half an hour, there were six more. And they just keep coming. I don't know how they know we're here, or why they won't go away, more than likely they just smell us. We've been here for a couple days now, and we spend a lot of time outside. Either way, we have to go. As soon as the sun is up, we're out of here."

Seeing the panicked look on their faces, he adds, "We were going to go today or tomorrow anyway, so the timeline isn't moved up much. We didn't get to test the truck more but at least we stopped and filled it up again before coming back last night, so both trucks are good to go." After looking from face to face, he turns to Kurt. "Who do you think should go with you?"

Kurt shifts a little. "Well, the kids, obviously. They'll be much safer in the cab than the nav. Puck, of course. And then two of the bigger guys? Dave and Sebastian, if they're good with that. They're both decent shots, but they aren't the **best**. It would put Britt, Santana, Finn, Travis, and you in the nav. Aside from Finn, you guys are our best shooters and we'll need you guys in case we need bailed out."

Sam considers before nodding. "Okay. We'll have to put Travis in the back but at least he'd be able to reach the back window to shoot out of if we needed. We can drop the big side of the back row to make room for storage." Turning to everyone else, Sam says, "Alright, if no one has any objections to it, that's the plan. Pack everything up as quietly as you can, including food and shit. You can just bag the cold shit until you get to the fridge in the truck. I froze some more ice and repacked the meat cooler yesterday, even though it seemed okay. Better safe than sorry."

Seb gives a sage nod before agreeing. "Don't worry, we're safe. I've already packed the condoms and lube."

Dave smacks him again.

* * *

By the time the sun rises at 6am, they're all packed and ready to go. As soon as they'd been able to see without flashlights, they'd started loading everything into the trucks. Most of the food and luggage for those riding in the semi were put in the storage space on the cab, either inside the cubbies or outside in the space underneath.

The nav had been loaded with gas cans, piled all the way to the ceiling. The luggage had been moved to the roof shell, with more gas cans tied up around it.

Santana had volunteered to open the gate, since she was the fastest person with easy access to a door. Kurt was nervous. He'd have to time it well to take down any zombies before they could get to Santana after she opened it. He wouldn't know if he screwed up until too late.

When they pull up to the exit, there are over 20 zombies clawing at the fence, almost like they were trying to remember how to climb. Seeing the trucks causes them to break into a frenzy of movement, redoubling their efforts.

As soon as Santana nods at him and pushes the button, Kurt punches it. He cuts it so close that he scrapes the sides of the truck on the edges of the gate, the automated doors not moving as fast as he'd thought they would. _At least I know none got to her._

Later Sam would tell him how the semi had trampled the zombies with no trouble. He would also tell him that one had managed to cling to the back of the truck for a few hundred feet before falling off. It hadn't mattered since they didn't stop for awhile but it made Sam realize they'd have to be really careful getting out of the truck if they were in a similar situation again.

Kurt watches to make sure the nav is following before hitting I-75, having to make a very wide and abrupt U-turn. Once they get down the road a bit, Kurt slows and allows Brittany to pass him. Sam tells them, via CB, that they'll call out when they pass mile markers until they're about a mile apart but to never stray more than two miles. They'd have to call out if one of them changed their speed too much to avoid getting too far away. It only takes them about an hour to realize that one way to tell they've gone too far is for the CB to not reach them. Luckily the walkie talkie had still reached them since they were barely out of range, but it had freaked Kurt out pretty hard when Sam didn't answer.

The journey is awkward and nerve-wracking for Kurt. Twice during the trip south they are forced to stop and wait as Sam's group gets out to clear a blockage of cars that the semi wouldn't have been able to get through. It's as they pass a large group of zombies on the other side of the interstate that Puck says,

"Ya know... we keep seeing them in groups... I mean, you do in zombie movies too, but why? If they're dead and can't think, how do they know it's safer in groups?"

Kurt thinks about it for a minute. "Well, I don't think they **are** dead. Not really. I think they're just... slowed. I think whatever this disease is or whatever, it's putting them into a kind of... stasis. They don't feel pain or anything, shots don't stop them, you can't tell if they're breathing, not that we've gotten very close to check... I don't know, it just seems like they've shut down most of their bodies and only really have a tiny bit of thought process which amounts to, obviously, 'braaaaains'. That small part of them seems to know to travel with others."

Puck shrugs. "Makes as much sense as anything else, I guess."

When it starts raining around 10am, Puck mutters that this whole day has just been total crap. Every time they come up on an exit, Kurt worries about a roadblock or something worse. When they pass Dry Ridge about a third of the way there, they get to test their theory on driving through a herd. Aside from the sickening crunches and bumps, Kurt can barely even tell they were there.

Dave and Sebastian spend most of the day watching Star Wars with Stevie on Kurt's laptop and the girls never explain what they're doing besides sitting on the top bunk and giggling at each other. As long as they don't start fighting, Kurt considers it a win.

They keep an eye out for an easy gas station to fill up at but don't find one for a long time. It's only as Kurt starts to really freak out, thinking he'll have to stop in Georgetown, that they find a small exit with nothing but a Shell station and a McDonald's. After cleaning out the gas station of zombies, food, and beverages, -and taking a few minutes to figure out how to turn the gas pumps on from inside the way the clerks did- they'd filled their tanks and gotten back on the road.

Kurt had also noticed that not everywhere still had power, but most places did. _I know it won't last forever, but it'd be nice to at least have lights when we go through the shopping mall of death._

The only really notable thing about Georgetown happens just as they're leaving it. Driving by what they first think is a large empty crop field, they see a huge group of over 30 kids in soccer uniforms clawing at the fence to get out. If they didn't have three kids of their own, Kurt would be tempted to put them out of their misery. As it is, he knows he won't be able to forget it for a long time, if ever.

Glancing at Puck, the taller boy was staring blankly at the road with a straight face. It takes over an hour for him to risk looking back out the side window.

* * *

Coming up on Lexington, Kurt remembers all the fear he'd been swamped with when he'd had to drive past Springfield or get so close to Cincinnati... that didn't have shit on this. As Kurt follows I-75 south into Lexington, the first thing they see is the Kentucky Horse Park on the left. Kurt takes a second to hope that someone at least set the dozens of horses that are probably inside free before refusing to dwell on it. _God only knows how many pets and animals are trapped in fences and houses. I really don't want to think about it._

Only a couple miles later his attention is thoroughly refocused on the road intersecting with I-64. That of itself wouldn't be that bad, but because the roads are so close together, I-75 gets lined on both sides with guardrails or cement dividers for a few miles. Only the knowledge that Sam didn't call out to him to stop and find another way kept him from hyperventilating.

As Kurt makes his way around Lexington, he keeps waiting on the 'oh shit' moment. It's the biggest city they'd been near, and it got hit a day before Ohio did, so even though they'd tried to evacuate, he knows there are hundreds of zombies close by. He keeps waiting on the horde to start popping out of the trees or suddenly appear around every turn.

Instead, everything had gone really well, and Kurt had almost managed to convince himself that they'd make it through the whole city without a problem when suddenly Sam's voice starts crackling over the radio mid sentence.

"-mit Kurt, Puck! Answer as soon as you get this. Stop, don't come closer. Don't follow us, I don't want to deal with turning that damn truck around! Seriously guys, come on, answer me!"

Grabbing the mic, Puck says, "We heard you, he's stopping. What's up?"

Sighing heavily into the radio, Sam says, "Exit 104 is completely blocked. I guess people that left the city all headed there or something. It looked like almost a hundred cars had piled up and crashed there. Getting around it would have been insane."

As Kurt looks around he points out, "Yeah, but there's no exit here. We'd have to backtrack almost two miles and then either go into town, which I'd rather eat a live squirrel than do, or find back country roads that wouldn't jam us up too."

Once Puck relates that to Sam, the blonde points out, "Actually... the road you're on, what's beside you? Is it flat?"

Puck shrugs, "It looks like a thin line of trees, not sure what's on the other side. Maybe houses? And yeah, it's flat."

About that time, the nav gets there and Sam gets out, followed by Santana and Travis. Thankfully it had stopped raining over an hour ago. When they walk closer, Puck pokes his head out the door. "So what are we doing?"

Sam yells out, "You, Dave, and Sebastian come with me, bring your guns. I want to go see something."

Five minutes later, Kurt is staring at the treeline where the group had walked off and wondering if he should go after them when suddenly a minivan comes tearing through the trees and careens off in the opposite direction from them. Before Kurt can really figure out what the hell that was, an SUV comes barreling through just a few feet from where the minivan had come from. Both vehicles keep going until they crash into the cement divider.

Kurt, thinking maybe his friends had been in one or both of them, opens his door to go check on them when he notices the group walking back out to the road and grinning. Hissing loudly, Kurt asks, "What the hell was that?!"

Puck shrugs. "We needed to see if the path was safe to drive through, so Sam had me hot-wire a couple cars and we rigged them to plow through it."

Kurt just glares. "Don't scare me like that!"

After they're all piled back in, Brittany goes through first, with no problems. The tractor trailer is a bit tougher of a fit but makes it through okay, if scraped up. Coming out on the other side, puts them in a suburb. Sam goes first, leading the way using the nav's GPS.

Three turns and less than a mile later, they're on the overpass going east on 1927. The road is almost as empty as the roads in Ohio. The main differences are the numerous trees, mountains and a lack of corn. When they got to a tiny town called Athens, Kurt had a lot of trouble making the sharp, narrow turns and couldn't have been happier to put the small pain in the ass town behind him.

The detour was about ten miles at took them almost an hour all altogether, but eventually they came back out on I-75.

When they pull out, they notice the cement road dividers blocking the lanes as far off in both directions as they can see. When he stops to ask Sam if it's safe to pull out and head south on northbound or if he should try to go north and find a way across, they decide to scout ahead. After almost 20 minutes, he finally comes back.

"Sorry it took awhile, we went all the way up, across the bridge. I have really good news, I'll tell you while we head that way." After Kurt has pulled onto the left side of the road and started following, Sam continues. "The pathway is clear all the way across the river, which is the good news. What's funny is that it wasn't clear a few days ago, from the looks of things. Just be really careful about driving across it, and we should be fine."

Kurt doesn't understand what that means exactly until they get to the bridge. The southbound side of Clay's Ferry is completely blocked off by a flipped semi that had hit the guardrail and rolled. There are signs that the wreck had been much bigger, probably sealing the bridge off completely until a day or two ago.

Kurt assumes that someone else had also either been driving a semi or just didn't want to find another bridge and had somehow knocked the concrete divider railing off the bridge. They had then shoved or drove enough cars over the side to make room to pass.

Once they're on the other side, Sam radios again. "Okay, I know it's only 4:30, but I planned to stop here and Richmond is about ten miles away and I don't want to get too close until tomorrow."

They pull off on exit 97 and Kurt stops barely up the ramp at Sam's warning. When he does, Sam runs up to the truck and opens the door. Climbing over Puck, Sam crouches down between the seats and says, "Okay, sorry. It would have been too hard to explain over the radio. So, I want to stay at that place over there."

Pointing to an almost empty lot with a few constuction vehicles, Sam says, "We know from experience that the fence can keep them out. Anyway, the gate is going to be hard to get into in this thing so I figured I'd jump out and help direct you. The rest of the guys are waiting to let us in when we get close."

Kurt sighs before putting the truck back in gear. "Okay... how hard can it be, right?"

* * *

Almost 45 minutes later, Kurt is cursing himself. Once they're finally settled in with the gate closed behind them, they look around the building for a bit before going back to the truck. This area didn't have power so they all decide it wouldn't be worth it to try and make space inside, they're just going to sleep in the truck.

Once they're sure it's safe, they let the kids out to run around a bit. They pull out the grill and decide to have hotdogs and some of the chips they'd grabbed from the gas station for dinner. Even without bread, it was pretty good. Kurt spends most of the evening curled up against Puck's chest beside the grill.

The rain had dropped the temperature just enough to make Kurt chilly as the sun sets. After they'd all finished eating, Sam stands up and says, "Alright. So, we're not far from Richmond, where the shopping center is. I want to get there early and hit as few stores as we can while still getting everything we need. I made a list of the stores there, pass it around. If any of you think we need something from one that we can't get elsewhere, speak up."

Finn frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a kid's clothing store, but we shouldn't need to go there. It's mostly for babies or toddlers and the kids we have, we can find stuff for at the other places, JCPenny, Meijers, whatever. Stuff like that."

Santana, holding the list, says, "Well, obviously we need those. We should also hit either Belk or T.J. Maxx. Both would probably be a waste of time, but we should clear them out of jeans and shoes. Plus blankets and pillows and stuff."

Sam nods, "Yeah, we need as many clothes as we can get, while we can."

Kurt pipes up with, "We should also hit Michaels. I need sewing supplies, among other things we could use in there."

Laughing, Sam says, "Yeah, I already figured that one. Maybe we can find enough projects and stuff to keep the kids busy if we have to set up a house near Uncle James's."

Finn points out, "Well, if we end up doing that, we'll need bunk beds or something. I doubt anyone will have enough rooms and beds for all 12 of us in one house in the middle of nowhere. Sebastian's house was kind of a miracle and even then we only had ten, with more people sharing than we'd have liked long term."

Sam nods again, "Yeah, I thought about that. I don't know if any of those places would have bunk beds, but if they did, it would probably be either Pieratt's or Meijer. We'll check both and load up whatever they have. We can get mattresses and bed frames from Pieratt's too. Even if we don't use them right away, I'm sure we can find a place to store them until we need new ones."

Puck points out, "We should at least get new tires and maybe some parts for the nav since there's a garage thing."

When no one else says anything, Sam grins. "Okay, so that's six stores. Could be worse. Meijers is going to be the main one. I plan to pack up about half their store. Everything from books and movies to food and blankets. I never want to have to go to one again if I don't have to. Like I said, the reason we should be able to make it work is because we're all out, armed, and early. Later on we'll have to leave some people to defend our home and it'll be picked over already."

Noticing how dark it was getting, Sam declares it time to pack everything up. He wanted to be ready to roll in the morning. Sam pulls Kurt aside while they're loading up and says, "It's your night off, thankfully, so try to get as much sleep as you can. We're all counting on you to drive us. You guys have had plenty of fun the past two nights, take a break and get some rest."

Blushing, Kurt squeaks, "Oh god, you heard us."

Laughing, Sam slaps him on the shoulder and walks away, tossing over his shoulder, "Finn has been grumbling all day about finding a pair of pliers and a blow torch in case Puck hurts you."

Kurt buries his head in his hands and groans as Sam pours the bucket of sand he'd prepared earlier onto the fire.

* * *

That night they took Sam's advice and went to bed early. Kurt and Puck were on the top bunk with Dave and Sebastian on the bottom. Everything had been packed back into the trucks before the rest of the group had climbed into the back. Even with the vents, they kept the door cracked open, just in case.

Dave had also backed the nav right up against the back of the doors so that it could only be opened just far enough for some of the smaller people, like Brittany, to squeeze out. By the time a zombie got in, they'd have more than enough time to shoot it.

The sky was just starting to lighten when Kurt jerks awake. Taking a second to calm his racing heart, Kurt frowns. _What woke me up? I'm usually not this light of a sleeper._

After a few more seconds, Kurt hears banging from the back of the truck. Sitting up and climbing over Puck, Kurt shakes him. "Noah! Get up, something's wrong!"

As he steps down off the ladder, Kurt looks through the tiny gap in the curtains around the front windows and gasps. In front of the truck, just on the other side of the fence, is a herd of zombies. It's not as big as the one they'd seen on the interstate days before, but there were over a hundred shambling up to them. They looked confused, not feral, so Kurt assumes they hadn't found them yet. Reaching into the cubbie above the fridge, Kurt radio's the back.

"Sam! Whoever's up, shut the door! There are shit tons of zombies outside!"

The longest minute of Kurt's life later, they hear the door slam closed. A second later, Sam says, "Well, we're all up now. There was two right outside, trying to figure out how to get in. I think they could smell us."

As Kurt watches, five or six zombies lean against the fence and it detaches from the post it was supposed to be latched to. "Fuck, Sam. The fence is broken. We didn't notice because it looked fine, but it's not attached. They can get in, they just haven't really figured it out yet. If they know we're here..."

Sam swears, before calling out to everyone, not just Kurt. "Okay, we have to go. Finn and I will try to hold the door closed as best we can since we can't lock it from inside and there are already at least two out there, probably more."

Since he'd left the button depressed, Kurt hears Brittany ask, "What about the navigator? It's got our stuff in it."

Kurt steamrolls over anyone trying to respond to say, "No, you have to get the door shut so I can pull out. Like you said, we can come back for the nav. Can you guys keep the door shut enough that if I hit a bump you won't all fall out into the street?"

The awkward silence speaks volumes. While he'd been talking, Kurt had slipped his shoes back on and sat down in the driver's seat. He had everything ready to go and Puck had moved to sit beside him. Glancing back, Dave and Sebastian had also woken up and Dave had a hand clamped down on Sebastian's arm as though keeping him from darting away.

While he's still wondering what that's about, Kurt hears multiple voices yell out,

" **No! Travis!** "


	14. Chapter 14

It took Kurt hours to hear the whole story about what actually happened as they left Clay's Ferry. What he eventually found out was that while Dave was there to contain Sebastian, no one was holding down his mini-me.

In the silence that resulted from Kurt's question, Travis had slipped his hand down between the mattresses and grabbed the keys to the navigator. He'd decided that if someone had to go out and lock the trailer, he wasn't going to sit around and let everyone hem and haw over it when he could just get it done. He'd played Left 4 Dead 2, he could do this.

The only ones able to even fit out the door were himself, the girls and the kids. He sure as hell wasn't about to let anyone else do it. While all the 'adults' had glanced from person to person, wondering what to do as Sam thought about it, Travis slowly stood up and slipped toward the door. By the time someone noticed him, it was too late. The mattresses had been pushed back about five feet and the only one close enough to reach him was Finn, but he moved too slow.

By the time they're shrieking at him, he'd managed to slip out of the door and slam it in Santana's face. As he throws the lock with one hand he raises and shoots his Sig with the other, almost dropping it from his weak grip. He'd killed the closest zombie, but he'd also alerted all the others. Running around the nav the long way to avoid three fast approaching 'undead', he uses the key fob to unlock the door before climbing into the back seat, the first door he'd come to.

Taking a second to breathe, he listens to the sounds of banging from the truck, the older kids he'd locked inside all screaming for him. Deciding to recover after he calms everyone down, he'd climbed into the front seat and turned on the truck, using the CB.

Grinning cockily, he'd said, "So, am I still just a 'stupid kid' who can't compare to 'tall hot and tanned'?"

Kurt's shrieking made him seriously reconsider the logic in antagonizing him.

* * *

Within two minutes, they'd left Kurt clearing a path through the zombies. They'd just busted through the side of the fence so no one else would make the mistake of thinking it was safe. And ya know, because no one could open the gate.

Once they were almost two miles down the road, Kurt had stopped. The four from the cab had gotten out and carefully checked to make sure they didn't have any hangers on before unlocking the back of the trailer while Sebastian took turns hugging and hitting Travis.

After everyone else had taken their turn either thanking or hitting him, Kurt stepped up and kissed him on the temple before smiling and patting him on the cheek.

"You ever do anything like that again, and I'll cut your balls off while you sleep. Don't make rash decisions, you'll get us all killed. But thank you."

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Sebastian and Sam took Travis back into the trailer and stripped him the way they'd stripped Kurt. Once he was deemed human, they all loaded back up, passing around breakfast cereal bars.

At the first sign for Richmond, Sam starts walking them through the plan. Since they were only going to six stores, they would start on the east side and work their way counterclockwise. Sam said that the ground looked pretty flat from the interstate so he planned to just drive over, and skip the ramp. They'd make noise busting the wooden fence but it would be worse to go through town and draw attention from the neighboring businesses and homes.

Kurt was already dressed warmly because the others in the cab had overruled him **again** when it came to the a/c so he was the only one that didn't need a wardrobe change when they got there. As such, they were hitting the tire store first.

When they get close enough, Brittany stops and Kurt passes her, busting the white, wooden fence down and plowing right through it. He pulls up outside Tire Discounts and waits for everyone in the nav to step out before they all start to climb down.

Kurt points out that the girls can change in the cab if they want before he moves to the shop. Thanks to the numerous windows, Kurt can tell there's nothing moving inside and the lights were on. The day was looking up. Turning back to them he announces,

"Okay, you guys have fun out here. I'm gonna go find everything I can to fit my truck."

Half an hour later there are two towers of tires against the back wall filled with car parts, tools, and random things like car chargers and any flashlights, extension cords or battery chargers they had. He'd only expected to grab some jumper cables but they'd had actual chargers and he'd grabbed both.

Next was Belk. Before going inside they'd left Stevie, Stacey, and Sarah in the truck. At the last second, Finn had asked to stay with them, not comfortable leaving them alone outside. He wasn't much help to have, shooting wise, anyway.

They'd pulled the truck up as close as they could and propped the doors open, leaving one person near the door at all times to keep an eye out. They'd quickly stripped the whole store of all the sturdier clothes and all of their shoes, in every size they had. Sam had even told Santana, Brittany, and Kurt that they could grab two outfits each that weren't just for function.

When they'd piled everything in that they could, using the mattresses to create a dam for the clothes to keep them clean, they moved on to JCPenney. After they'd done the same thing in that store, they pulled over to Pieratt's.

This time, the girls stayed with the truck and Finn went inside with the guys to grab mattresses, bed frames, the only three bunkbeds they had, and all the memory foam accessories they could find. Kurt also grabbed some smaller furniture, like ottomans, because no matter where they ended up, he imagined they wouldn't have enough seating. As Puck is walking out, he grabs a fire extinguisher hanging on a pillar, because why not?

Kurt actually pouts when he gets into Michaels and only sees three zombies. Apparently not a lot of people were out shopping for arts and crafts when the world ended. All the other stores had at least ten, and Sam was predicting Meijers to have over 30. Luckily they'd mastered the art of steering a shopping cart with one hand and a hip on their fourth trip into Belk.

Kurt is fairly sure he could nerd out in Michaels for hours but restrains himself to just sewing supplies and let's Sam and the girls go find things for the kids. After taking all of their heaviest fabrics and needles, and their best sewing machine, Kurt meets back up with them and points out the three carts he'd loaded up.

The truck was over two thirds full by now and they still had Meijers to go. Before tackling the hardest place, they stopped to eat and discuss what all they needed. Sam admitted that most of what was in there could be picked up at pharmacies, dollar stores, or whatever, if they needed. So they decided to focus on the bigger stuff that they couldn't get elsewhere.

Taking the store sections at a time seems to be the best idea and it takes a long time to determine what they actually need, what they want, and what they would have loved to have a month ago but is now pointless.

As they move from the health and beauty section on to home storage, Kurt grins. "Well, at least we can double up here. Start grabbing baskets and bins and stuffing them with shit!"

That load is the weirdest combination of storage bins, hunting and camping equipment, electrical things like chargers and video games, and a few toys they'd grabbed for the kids. Finn had demanded, over radio, that they get one of every Lego kit. _Okay, so not_ _ **just**_ _for the kids._

By the time they've moved on to food, Kurt is explaining how to drop the back seat of the nav down so they could fit more stuff in it. They'd grabbed five bean bag chairs and squeezed them into the cab of the truck for Travis, Santana, Finn, and the little girls to sit on. They'd decided to load up the top bunk with food, especially the lighter stuff that they didn't want squished, like bread and crackers. The newly uncovered floor space in the nav is stacked with cans and jars, everything from canned vegetables and jams to coffee and lard. They piled the back of the nav with every bag of sugar and flour they could find, even the gross stuff that Rachel had eaten.

Once they'd made one full circuit of the store, Kurt announced that he wanted to go through one more time, especially for things like trash bags, ziplocks, school supplies, little things like that. Finn had grumbled but climbed back into the truck to wait one more time.

When they come back out, Kurt walks toward the truck carrying a box. "Finn, I got you a tablet to make up for you having to sit outsi-"

He cuts off at the sound of about 10 rifles being raised. Looking up, he sees Finn sitting on his knees with his fingers laced behind his neck, and a huge bearded asshole standing behind him with a gun to his head.

"Wh-" Kurt is cut off by two more guys stepping around the truck, both with guns raised and aimed. When one steps forward to grab him, Kurt reacts without thinking, punching him in the nose and skipping backward. It's not until Puck grabs him and shoves him behind himself that he realizes how badly that could have gone.

The guy's eyes water but there was no real damage. That didn't stop the slightly younger boy from laughing at him.

"Jesus H Christ, Bobby. You let a fag get the jump on you?"

Glaring at the other man, 'Bobby' turns his gun to aim at the group. The one holding a gun on Finn says,

"Ahright, now here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna take your friend here and go and we're not gonna shoot anyone. You don't, and I'll blow his brains out."

Panicking, Kurt darts his eyes around, looking for the kids. _The asshole hadn't said anything about them... how had they gotten Finn without knowing about them?_

Obviously trying to focus on the problems they could see, Sam grits out, "You might manage to kill him, but you'd never get all of us. You'd never get out of here alive."

Grinning, the asshole says, "Well sure, that's why I'm going to insist you put your guns down on the ground before I let big'un here go."

When no one moves, the bigger guy cocks his gun and puts it back to his head. " **Now!** "

Once they slowly put their rifles down, Sam glares at the guy. "Okay, now let him go."

After long seconds, the asshole pokes Finn in the back of the head. "Ahright, go." As Finn moves away from the group of men, their backs still to the truck, Kurt notices through the window that the opposite door was open. _They must have demanded that he come out and not made him close it. So where are Stevie, Stacey, and Sarah?_

"Hell yeah! Let's get the hell out of here!" The first idiot to speak yelled out.

'Bobby' was still glaring at them. "We should kill them and take both trucks."

The older guy shrugs. "Doesn't matter to me, but let's get the hell on with it. We've waited long enough for this. I'm sick to damn death of looking at these buildings."

Snorting, the first guy says, "I know, right? Most idiots that come through can't make it past one store without being eaten, here these guys got six of em."

While the morons celebrate their early victory and discuss whether or not to actually kill them now that the guns are down, Kurt, Santana, and Sebastian all manage to pull out their handguns; blocked by people in front of them. Just as Kurt is trying to figure out a signal to use on when to open fire, he sees Stevie and Sarah dart from around the truck and shoot at the men in front of them.

Stevie, with his laser-sight, dropped the older asshole with a shot to the chest while Sarah barely clips Bobby. Kurt, Santana, Sebastian and Sam, who was just a quick draw, blasted the two remaining assholes with two or three shots each. While everyone else breathes a sigh of relief, Stevie steps forward and puts bullets in all three's brains.

When he looks up, Sam is grinning at him. Stevie shrugs. "What? It's easier to kill them now than wait for them to come after us later."

It's Brittany that asks, "Where's the cute little blonde one?"

Sarah shouts, "Oh! I put her in the nav. I could only remember the first part of the code but she remembered the whole thing. She's really smart! And her **name** is Stacey!"

Santana laughs. "Oh, you're a Puckerman alright. I like you, squirt. Let's go get **Stacey**."

After everyone takes a second to hug the kids and Finn, Kurt clinging to his brother a bit longer than everyone else, Sam yells out,

"Okay, let's get the hell out of here before their toothless cousins show up or something!"

* * *

They fill up one more time at the Meijer gas station. They have to use a different card, since no one knows where the other one went. This time it's Burt's. They fill up and leave as soon as they can, not even going inside.

As they pull back on I-75, Kurt is just about done with the whole nomad thing. As he follows behind the nav, barely able to see it most of the time, Kurt asks over the CB, "So, how far is this place, exactly? Because I'm so done with this shit."

Sam laughs over the line. "It's about 20 miles and we're home. I just hope Uncle James lets us stay."

The rest of the journey is spent in almost complete silence, everyone whispering to each other. Kurt figures they're all as sick of it as he is. When they pass Berea, Kurt realizes that it will probably be one of their major scavenging locations. Sam makes no move to stop, thank god, and just keeps going. When they've gone about 15 miles and Kurt hasn't seen any signs for exits, he radio's Sam again.

"I thought you said about 20 miles? Did you just judge it wrong or what?"

Sam laughs. "Nah. Didn't I tell you? We aren't taking an exit. The place we're going to is between Berea and Mount Vernon. It's only about a mile away from I-75, but we'll have to go around a guardrail or something to get there from here. I didn't want to fight through Berea for no reason other than to get off the interstate."

A few minutes later, Kurt pulls to a stop. Brittany had parked in the middle of the road to wait on him. Sam crackled over the CB,

"Okay, this is probably our best bet. I don't want to make too big of a mess because I don't want it to be obvious that we pull off here. Leading living people home with you can be a much bigger problem than the dead ones, as we've found out."

Kurt watches as Brittany slowly drives forward across a small field and out past a red brick building to the road just on the other side of it. Breathing out slowly, Kurt follows. The ride isn't fun, and he worries for a second about food falling off the top bunk and beaning someone in the head, but eventually they make it out to 25.

Turning to follow the nav, they don't go far before they stop again, this time on a bridge. Kurt picks up the mic to ask Sam what's going on when it crackles in his hand.

"Just thought I would point out that the interstate under us is I-75. If we ever agree to let people come to us, for trading or whatever, this is as close as they get; under that bridge. It's not much farther, maybe a mile. When we get there, let me do the talking. You guys can get out, but for fuck's sake, Sebastian, Santana, and Puck, keep your mouths shut. On second thought, you too Kurt."

Huffing, Kurt throws the mic at Puck to hang up, refusing to dignify Sam with a response. Following the nav, Kurt takes turns and corners very carefully. When Sam pulls off the main road to head up a gently sloping hill/driveway, Kurt worries about whether or not the semi can make it up it. Luckily, despite the hill being pretty steep, the drive is more or less a straight shot sideways and the truck can do it, barely.

Once at the top, Kurt pulls the truck around in a wide arc before stopping in front of a chain link fence not too different from the ones they'd been staying in for the past few days. Sam had pulled up to the gate and had gotten out. Quickly parking, Kurt gets out too, to make sure Sam had back up. It's the zombie apocalypse, there was no guarantee that 'Uncle James' still owned the place.

As they all pile out, except for the kids, who Puck had told to wait until they knew it was safe, a shot rings out. A loud voice calls out,

"Stop! Don't come closer or I'll blow your head off." When they look up at the house, Kurt is already impressed by the design. _Wow... when he said his dad and uncle were survivalists..._

The house is two stories with an attic. Both levels were made of concrete blocks for the first six feet and the last two feet of wall was taken up by windows, all the way around. The voice they'd heard was a small girl, maybe 16, standing on the top floor. The door behind her lead to the attic. It was probably supposed to be a scenic viewing platform or something but the girl was using it as a sniper's nest. The second floor also had a balcony, the same size as the front porch.

As Kurt is checking the house out though, Sam snaps out, "Lexie! Don't shoot just to shoot! What if you draw the damn things here? Have you been doing that shit this whole time? Where's your dad?"

'Lexie' leans forward and squints at Sam, not lowering her gun. A few seconds later the front door flies open and a thin girl with brown hair comes flying out of the house. Running at their fearless leader and leaving the gate flapping open, the new girl screams, "Sam!"

Kurt pulls his gun and aims it at the girl. At first he's appalled by his reaction, until he notices that at least three others in their group had done the same. Deciding that this was another case of 'the new normal' Kurt smiles. Sam, noticing their reactions, waves his hands.

"It's okay guys. This is Zoe, Lexie's sister." Hearing cursing from upstairs, Kurt looks up just in time to see the smaller girl go back inside, slamming the door. Within 30 seconds she comes tearing out of the house, screaming at her sister.

"Dammit, woman! What the hell is wrong with you?! He could be infected!"

Kurt giggles. "Oh, you're going to be Sam's new best friend."

Eying him warily, Lexie says, "It's common sense. If she's going to be this stupid, I'm not too excited about protecting her."

Finn frowns at the smaller girl. "Isn't she your big sister? Shouldn't she be protecting you?"

Kurt smacks him. "I shot someone for you less than two hours ago. Oh, how quickly he forgets."

Puck snorts. "Well, technically you're older, so that just proves his point."

Finn shakes his head. "No, Kurt's the little brother, we decided. A few months shouldn't make me the little brother when I'm so much bigger."

Dave smacks Sebastian before he can do more than smirk and say, "Are you really? Ho-"

Waving his arms as well as he can at everyone, Sam says, "Oh my god, you guys. Not helping. Shut up for a few minutes." Turning back to Lexie, because clearly Zoe was no help, he asks, "So, really, is Uncle James here?"

Zoe bursts into tears before mumbling out a rough explanation that their parents had gone to work and never came back. She'd been sure that he would turn up after maybe a day or two, but they were on day nine in Kentucky, and he hadn't come home.

Lexie eventually concedes that they look okay and puts her gun down. When she does, so does everyone else. Sam waits until Zoe pulls it together enough to step back before he says, "Well, here's the deal. My parents died. I know Dad did, I'm assuming Mom did too because she never called or anything. I have Stevie and Stacey, and all of these guys, and another little girl. We're family. We'd like to stay here with you, since I know it's perfectly set up for this. If you guys don't want us here, we'll find somewhere else. But we're tired of moving around."

Zoe immediately starts crying into his chest again, saying she hadn't known what to do, that she'd never learned how to run the house and all of it's stuff, that she didn't know what she was going to do if Sam left, and to please stay. Despite her pleading, it's Lexie he watches. After a few seconds, she breaks like Stevie had and runs forward to hug him.

Sam leans down to kiss her hair and mumble to them both, "It's okay guys. We're here, and we'll all be a family together. We're gonna be fine."

* * *

Wanting to give them some privacy, Kurt clears his throat and says, "Hey guys, let's go inside and wait."

Sam nods, gratefully before yelling out, "Hey guys, come on out. We're staying."

The door to the semi opens and Stevie and Sarah climb out before helping Stacey. As soon as the blonde girl's feet touch the ground, she's running at Zoe. As the two sets of siblings reunite, Kurt takes Sarah's hand and leads everyone inside. Puck wraps an arm around his waist and follows him.

The various chairs and couch quickly filling up, Kurt is unsurprised to be pulled into Puck's lap. Sarah doesn't sit down, instead she stands in front of them and bounces on the balls of her feet, looking around. As everyone stretches and waits, Kurt nudges Finn with his foot, him sitting beside them.

"Are you okay, hun? No injuries or anything right?"

Smiling his dopey grin, Finn nods. "I'm fine. I'm just glad they didn't see the kids. Apparently they had been hiding out in a house nearby and waiting for people to get picked off before stealing their supplies if they made it that far. You guys impressed them quite a bit."

Puck grunts. "Oh, good. I'd hate to be disappointing to murderers and thieves."

When the rest of the group comes in, Sam locking the door behind them, they all turn to him. Smiling around at them, Sam says, "So, I guess we're home!"


	15. Chapter 15

[Ten Years Later]

As Kurt comes in range of the CB radio in the watch tower, Finn grabs the mic from the cradle and says, "We're almost back guys. Anything happen?"

It's Zoe that answers, "Nope, there's some guys here to trade and they've been waiting for about ten minutes, but other than that, we're good. Just make it quick, Puck is **losing** it."

Kurt giggles. _Oh, I bet he is._

Checking behind him, he sees Santana, Dave, and Travis all loading up their guns. Scoffing, Kurt turns back to the road. _They should have done that before we left. We're getting too soft. Just because we haven't seen one in almost a month doesn't mean they aren't still out there._

As they turn onto their road, he pulls to a stop on the bridge. As everyone but Travis gets out of the truck, Kurt laughs at the younger boy's pout.

"Don't blame me, hun. You're the one that went to running his mouth last time. Take it up with HR."

Ignoring his grumbling, Kurt jumps down and comes to the edge of the bridge. Looking down he sees two guys staring up at them. Pulling the walkie talkie off his belt, Kurt waves it. Once the other guy waves the one they'd put down there, he says, "Hey guys, you're new."

Taking a second to glance between them, the bigger man says, "Uh, yeah. We were living in Indiana until a few months ago, then we decided to relocate. There was too much competition for supplies."

Kurt nods. "Yeah, I understand that. If you're looking for a place, there's still a few good spots between Mount Vernon and Somerset that aren't taken."

The guy blinks before smiling slightly. "Thanks, we might give that a try." After a few seconds of silence he says, "So, the guy at the truck stop in Berea said you guys trade stuff. And to come here if we wanted something."

Nodding, Kurt says, "Yep. No one comes to our actual base, unless you're expressly invited, or want shot. So, I'm sorry if this seems weird, but we have family to protect."

Blinking again, the guy says, "Uh, sure... no problem."

"So, what were you looking to trade?"

The guy shrugs. "We've been hitting the small grocery stores on the way here, to see if anything hadn't been wiped. Found a few that were untouched. We have pretty much anything you'd want that would still be good. Obviously we didn't bring anything unfit to eat."

Kurt quickly checks his watch. When he sees the time he winces. _Noah really is going to kill me._

"So, uh... what do you guys need?"

Shifting slightly, the guy says, "Four pairs of boots would be awesome."

Considering him for a second, Kurt asks, "Do you guys have flour and sugar?"

* * *

It takes another half an hour before Kurt waves goodbye to the man, reminding him to please take the battery out of the walkie talkie and put them back in the waterproof box. The sign above the box explained the rules, but it was just easier to remind them. A few had forgotten after the lengthy negotiations.

Finn and Dave load the sugar and flour into the truck and they finally pile back in, now one bike and one Sarah heavier.

As they settle, Sarah swings into the top bunk, blowing her hair out of her eyes. She'd regretted her choice to finally try bangs for months, but they were slowly growing back out.

She turns to him as he makes the last turn before home and stops at the gate. "You know you're a dead man, right? Noah has been freaking out. You were supposed to be home hours ago. He's ranting to anyone that will sit still. I thought Stevie was going to punch him. If he wasn't so terrified of him, he might."

Kurt giggles. Stevie's obvious fear of Puck had been in full force for years, ever since Puck had caught them with Stevie's hand up Sarah's shirt on her 17th birthday. The fact that they were now 'married' didn't lessen his... concern when it came to the older man. Even Puck found it ridiculous at this point.

"It's not my fault. Blame the 'big'un' over there." It takes less than 30 seconds to make it past the cement wall, the gate clanging behind them. Waving at the camera aimed at them, Kurt drives past them and back up the hill toward the main house. Ten years ago he'd have had to park at the small house across the street and wait for an hour before coming up, but they'd gotten much more lax a couple years ago when the military had finally stepped in and wiped most of the zombies out. The ones that hadn't simply fallen apart. There were still some out there, but for the most part the problem now was people.

Parking just inside the perimeter wall, Kurt gets out and calls out to Finn. "Since you made me late, I can't help unload. Damn!"

Opening the chain link fence, Kurt ignores the cursing from behind him and looks up as Puck comes charging out the door. Before he can unleash, Kurt points at Finn.

"He did it. He demanded that we go check on Lexie and Katie. He said Lexie hadn't been home in a few days so clearly something was wrong. Obviously, she was fine. Just busy training. According to Katie she's at nurse level now. They're going to work on birth next since the Thompson's are having their fourth freaking child in a few months."

Puck glares at Finn. "You made him late today of all fucking days, because you're still trying to get Katie Jacobs to let you fuck her?! Seriously, dude?! Is now the time?"

Finn scoffed. "It's not about that! I'm going to marry her! I just have to convince her to give me a shot."

Kurt bit back another giggle. He knew for a fact that Katie was just fucking with him. She had every intention of being with Finn, it was why she was training her replacement. She couldn't very well move out to the middle of nowhere if she's the town doctor, now can she?

Pulling Puck's attention he asks, "Am I too late? She's not-?"

Scowling, Puck admits, "No. She's not here yet. But she will be any minute."

Kurt smiles at his 'husband' before leaning in to kiss him. "I'm sorry, baby. It really was supposed to just be a quick run for more propane. The RVs are both low. Then Finn wanted to detour and there was a trade when we got back. I'm sorry. I'm just glad I didn't miss it."

Deciding that the best thing he can do for Puck's nerves is to get him inside and distract him, Kurt tosses the keys to Dave. "I'm going to head in, I'll send Seb out to help if you need it. Can you park it in the third field? I'm pretty sure that's where we left the Prius anyway."

Dave waves them off. "Sure, man. And only send Seb if he doesn't have 'helpers' with him."

Smiling, Kurt nods and takes Puck's hand to lead him inside. Before he can reach the porch, they hear it. Glancing at Puck, who'd frozen in place, Kurt smiles sadly and rubs his hand over his arm. Pulling him gently around the back of the house, Kurt watches quietly as the helicopter circles their property a few times before touching down just off the side of the pond. Kurt had been worried there wouldn't be room between the house and the wind turbine, but it wasn't a problem.

Once it powers down, the door opens and an official looking man in army fatigues steps out. "Is this the home of 'New Directions'?"

Kurt waits for Puck to respond but realizes that he was still very much frozen in place. Taking over, Kurt nods and steps forward. "Yes, it is. Sorry, he's a little nervous. This is him. And we're more than happy to have her."

Watching them carefully, the man eventually relaxes. "Okay, good. I didn't think we could have gotten the wrong place, but there's been some mistakes in the past." After signaling someone in the helicopter, he turns back to Kurt. "Someone will be by in a week to make sure everything is fine. Of course if anything has happened to the girl, we'll be forced to notify the government, and trust me, you don't want that to happen. They're a lot meaner than they used to be."

Kurt huffs. "Like we'd really let anything happen to her after waiting for her for ten years?"

Nodding and stepping back, the door opens and a young girl steps out. She has small, delicate features and bright blonde hair. Kurt notes that she has hazel eyes, like her father and is fairly tall for her age. Kurt can tell she'll be much taller than her mother had been. Either of them.

Kurt sees Puck lurch forward a little and rubs his hand on the small of his back. Turning to the girl he warns her, "He's probably going to attack you in a second, hun. Don't worry, it's just a hug, but he's still not used to emotions. He spent a long time suppressing them."

Sure enough, he's barely finished speaking when Puck darts forward to wrap his arms around her, whispering 'Beth' over and over into her hair.

Kurt smiles at the military man. "Can I ask you in for something to eat or drink?"

Shaking his head reluctantly, the older man steps back again. "No, thank you, sir. I have to get going. We're hoping to drop off another lost family member down near Bowling Green."

As the helicopter starts back up, Kurt pulls Puck away from the wide eyed Beth gently. "Noah, baby, calm down. It's okay. She's here now. She's fine. Let's go inside so you guys can talk."

It takes awhile before Puck can speak normally to his daughter. He answers a lot of questions about Quinn and himself, and eventually about the house and what's expected of her here. She eyed Kurt questioningly and he'd explained that her father was bisexual, and that they only got together after Z-day, but that they'd gone to school together. He shows her pictures of New Directions and points out her mother to her. It was the first time she'd ever seen a picture of her.

The military had been trying for years to get the internet back up and running. Once it had, they had created a website you could sign up on to look for lost family members. They had been afraid to put their actual location or names but had signed up as 'New Directions, Show Choir National Champions 2012' and Beth had recognized the name from some clippings and things that Shelby had stuffed into their suitcase when she'd run from their home. Shelby hadn't made it more than a couple months, but Beth had kept her things.

Up until now she'd been raised in a military base with tons of other families and children. When she'd contacted the website, she had no idea that 'New Directions' would turn out to include her father. She was just looking for some connection to family.

After about an hour of sitting and talking, they're interrupted by a group of kids running into the living room and attacking Kurt and Puck. Puck introduces the five children to Beth.

After Sam and Zoe had accidentally had baby Jamie, and she had made it to her first birthday with no serious threats against her, 'the gays' had utilized a turkey baster to have their own children. Jamie, the oldest at 8 years old. Susie Q, is almost 7 and was Brittany and Kurt's. Damien, Sebastian and Santana's son, was 6. Paulie was barely 4 and was Dave and Brittany's. And Kara, Puck's daughter with Santana was 3. Sam and Zoe had also had another daughter, named Sharon, but she wasn't even out of diapers yet so she was with her mother, probably still in the watch tower.

Seeing that Beth was overwhelmed by the kids, Kurt rounds them all up and stands. "Okay guys, let's go make a snack and let Beth get settled."

Passing Brittany in the hall, he snags her arm and drags her into the kitchen. "You get to help me keep our lovely children busy until reinforcements come. Noah needs time with Beth."

Grinning at her children, Brittany stage whispers, "I heard your father scored us some sugar and flour today. Maybe we can get him to make a cake for Beth, to say welcome."

Kurt hugs her. "That's a great idea, Britt! Okay, so who wants to help measure and stir?"

* * *

By the time dinner comes around, Beth had been on a tour of the house, the grounds, and been driven by the outlying fields and stables.

The main residence was at the top of the hill. They'd surrounded the entire clearing in a ten foot tall concrete block wall. It covered about two acres. Just outside the house was the chain link fence. Between the two barriers was the watch tower that could see from the only road in -they'd blocked off the back road with more concrete walls- all the way to the first field and the stables. The stables housed a few cows, three horses and numerous dogs and cats along with pigs and chickens.

They had four fields that they used to grow crops and parked near each one was a semi trailer that they used as barns or emergency shelter.

Also between the fences was the wind turbine, a composting toilet, a pond, a barn, and two RVs that they'd liberated from Renfro Valley. The RV's were pretty much used as hotel rooms at first, for extra privacy when needed. Now Stevie and Sarah lived in one, and Travis and Lexie -short for Alexis- lived in the other. Inside the house, they had four bathrooms and five 'bedrooms'. Each bedroom was occupied by Kurt and Puck, Dave and Seb, Santana and Brittany, Sam and Zoe, and Finn in the one that had been the study. The actual master bedroom had been converted into the girls' room, filled with bunk beds and used communally. The same had been done for the boys using what was once the game room.

The house had a three car garage and a full basement and attic, used for storage. It ran on solar panels, and of course, wind energy. Just inside the inner fence, they had a small herb garden and the kid's garden where they learned to grow things without having to take them out in the fields at a young age.

It had taken them years to get everything set up how they wanted it and there was always some new project. They'd installed the motion activated cameras on the walls in year three, the dock for the pond in year four, and then got so busy with the kids that they'd had to scrap their original plan to dig a ditch around the inside of the wall. Probably for the best; if the kids didn't get hurt in it, Finn would have.

Over dinner Puck tells Beth that she'll be staying in the girls' room but that if she has any problems, to please feel free to come to them with it. As everyone separates, it being Dave and Sebastian's turn to put the kids to bed -since Santana and Britt were on guard duty- Beth offers to help with them. They agree, telling her they'll give her a more thorough tour of the house once the kids are all in bed.

Kurt curls up next to Puck and watches Beth follow the small herd of children up the stairs. Once they're alone, Kurt smiles at him sadly. "She looks so much like Quinn."

Puck nods and leans down to kiss his husband. "Thank you for being there today."

Kurt scoffs, smacking him. "Where else would I be? I'm sorry that you missed so much of her life. She's already 12."

Puck smiles at him. "Well, if the world hadn't ended, I wouldn't have her at all. Or you." When Puck starts kissing up his neck, Kurt smacks him again.

"Do not even start, Noah Puckerman. We don't need to traumatize Beth on her first night here. And I'm still sore anyway."

Puck bites his neck, ignoring the weak attempts at attacking. "Who said I wanted you to bottom?"

Kurt groans and hits him a bit more seriously. "Noah! Stop it. Your young, impressionable daughter is here. Is this really the foot you want to start out on?"

"She'll have to get used to seeing us together sooner or later, babe."

Deciding to pull out the big guns, literally, Kurt reveals, "Actually, I wanted to show you something I found while out on our run today."

Pulling Puck up off the couch, Kurt leads him into their bedroom where he'd stashed a somewhat small, green, metal army ammo can. Pulling it out of the closet he passes it to Puck.

"We hit a few houses while we were out there and I happened to find a house that hadn't been touched."

Opening the can, Puck's jaw drops. After a few seconds of silence, Puck throws his arms around Kurt and kisses him, almost dropping the can. Inside it's full almost to bursting of .50 bullets. The gun wasn't with them but Puck had been pouting for years that he'd had to waste the last of his ammo in year six and had never once found so much as a spare bullet anywhere.

Setting the can down gently on the dresser, Puck turns to Kurt and grabs him by the shoulders, pushing him toward the bed. Realizing that his plan had backfired completely, Kurt groans. Puck had shed his own clothes as quickly as he could and was working on Kurt's pants when they hear a sudden gasp and a loud laugh from the hallway. Turning to look, they see Dave, Sebastian, and Beth all staring at them.

Embarrassment flooding him, Kurt realizes that they hadn't even checked to make sure the door was closed. Puck stammers at Beth for several long seconds, not able to force words out. Of course, it's Sebastian that breaks the silence.

"And **that** , Beth, is your father's ass. It's aging rather well, don't you think? The stairs that lead to the attic are over here..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^_^


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